: 


Personal 
Recollections 

of 

Pioneer  Life 

on  the 

Mountains  and  Plains 

of 

The  Great  West 


By  LUKE  VOORHEES 


"3  ^  ( •?  6~ 
Bancroft  Ijbiwy 


IN  APPRECIATION 


TO  my  old  associates,  living  and  dead,  who  braved 
the  perils  and  hardships  of  the  Frontier  when  it 
was  practically  a  wilderness,  and  whose  life  on 
the  mountains  and  plains  was  full  of  interesting 
adventures  and  thrilling  incidents;  and  to  all  the  pio- 
neers of  our  early  history,  whose  rugged  virtues,  reso- 
lute courage  and  cheerful  endurance  laid  the  founda- 
tions  of  this(  great   Western   Empire,   I   dedicate   this 
book  as  a  simple  tribute  of  my  esteem  and  affection, 
thankful  that  I  have  the  honor  of  being  a  ' l  comrade ' ' 
of  that  noble  band. 

LUKE  VOOEHEES. 

Cheyenne,  Wyo.,  July  1,  1920. 


v 


LUKE  VOORHEES 


Personal  Recollections 

of 

Luke  Voorhees 


Early  Life  and  Wanderings 

I  was  born  in  Belvidere,  New  Jersey.  Parents  moved  to 
Oakland  County,  Michigan,  when- 1  was  two  years  old.  Resided 
there  during  childhood  and  boyhood  days.  The  last  schooling 
was  at  a  small  academy  at  Pontiac,  Michigan.  Left  home 
March,  1857,  for  Kansas  and  the  Great  Plains.  The  summer 
of  1857,  made  a  trip  from  Lawrence,  Kansas,  out  in  the  Smoky 
Hill  and  Republican  River  country,  hunting  buffalo.  Killed 
some  buffalo,  but  had  no  Indian  fights  on  that  trip.  Spent  the 
winter  of  1857  and  1858  south  of  Lawrence,  Kansas.  Remained 
there  until  April,  1859. 

Outfitted  for  Pike's  Peak 

Outfitted  with  four  other  young  men  for  Pike's  Peak.  Our 
outfit  consisted  of  five  yoke  of  oxen  and  a  Murphy  wagon, 
with  grub  enough  to  last  us  one  year.  Our  objective  point  was 
Pike's  Peak  gold  mines — there  being  great  excitement  about 
the  streams  and  rivers  of  what  is  now  Colorado  being  lined  with 
gold  dust  and  nuggets.  Our  route  was  over  the  old  Santa  Fe 
Trail  via  Council  Grove,  Great  Bend  of  the  Arkansas  River, 
Bent's  Port,  up  the  river  to  Pike's  Peak,  thence  to  the  head  of 
Cherry  Creek,  down  the  creek  to  Denver,  or  where  Denver  now 
stands,  camping  there  the  3rd  day  of  June,  1859,  then  going  to 
the  gold  diggings  up  Clear  Creek  to  Black  Hawk,  or  what  was 
then  Gregory  Diggings. 

i 

Indians  and  Buffalo 

As  to  the  trip  across  the  plains :  while  the  country  was  full 
of  Indians  and  buffalo,  we  encountered  no  Indians  that  were 
on  the  war  path  against  the  whites.  "We  passed  through  a 
large  party  of  Comanches  who  were  said  to  be  on  the  war  path 
against  the  Cheyennes,  Arapahoes  and  Sioux  Indians  north 


8  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

towards  the  South  Platte  River.  When  we  arrived  at  the  big 
bend  of  the  Arkansas  River,  we  were  swamped  with  buffalo  so 
mu,;ch  that  we  had  to  keep  guards  or  herders  out  with  our 
oxen  as' the  danger  was  so  great  that  they  would  stampede  our 
cattle  when  we  turned  them  loose  for  grazing.  On  May  25, 
1859,  we  camped  at  some  springs,  now  called  Manitou.  Little 
did  we  ever  expect  to  see  the  cities  that  are  now  built  at  Mani- 
tou and  Colorado  Springs. 

Mining  in  the  Mountains 

I  followed  mining  through  the  mountains  of  Colorado  until 
the  spring  of  1863.  On  April  23,  left  the  Territory  of  Colorado 
for  the  territory,  then,  of  Washington,  now  the  State  of  Mon- 
tana. The  trip  from  Denver  was  an  eventful  and  exciting 
trip,  with  Indians  and  the  high  waters  of  the  rivers  that  had 
to  be  crossed  in  some  improvised  way  as  there  were  no  ferry 
boats  or  bridges  to  cross  on.  I  arrived  at  Alder  Gulch  July 
4,  1863.  Gold  had  been  discovered  in  great  quantities.  I  took 
a  claim  from  which,  when  drained  by  hard  work,  T  could  take 
out  three  and  four  ounces  of  gold  each  day,  valued  at  $18  per 
ounce.  March  10,  1864,  some  French  breeds,  or  half-breeds, 
that  is,  half  Indian  and  half  French,  came  from  the  northwest 
in  British  Columbia,  near  the  Saskatchewan  country,  or  Koo- 
tenai  River.  The  half-breeds  showed  me  some  large  nuggets 
of  pure  gold.  They  seemed  to  be  anxious  to  have  me  go  with 
them,  where  they  said  they  could  show  me  "heap  gold."  I  at 
once  enlisted  three  men  who  had  crossed  the  plains  with  me, 
and  men  that  I  knew  to  be  good  and  true.  We  outfitted  with 
provisions,  ammunition  and  two  good  cayuses  (horses)  each, 
leaving  Alder  Gulch  the  last  of  March,  1864.  Although  there 
were  deep  snows  to  encounter,  we  successfully  made  the  trip. 
On  the  fourth  of  April,  we  camped  on  a  creek  which  emptied 
into  the  Kootenai  River.  Although  we  had  about  two  days' 
travel  to  make  the  stream  the  half-breeds  were  leading  us  to, 
I  liked  the  appearance  of  wash  of  the  gravel,  although  ice  still 
partly  covered  the  creek. 

Discovers  the  Kootenai  Diggings 

I  managed,  by  building  a  fire,  to  thaw  the  ice  and  warm 
some  water,  in  which  I  put  a  shovelful  of  gravel,  which  I 
panned  and  washed,  and  I  found  much  gold.  That,  of  course, 
made  me  the  discoverer  of  the  Kootenai  Diggings.  After  work- 
ing there  during  the  summer  and  late  in  the  fall,  I  returned 
to  Virginia  City,  Montana.  Was  engaged  in  mining  in  Montana 
until  1868,  as  a  business.  Was  passing  back  and  forth  from 
Montana  to  the  states.  Spent  considerable  time  in  Utah  during 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West  9 

the  winter  months.     Made  a  trip  to  Nevada  during  1868  and 
1869. 

At  the  Driving-  of  the  Spike 

Was  at  the  driving  of  the  last  spike  and  connecting  rail  of 
the  Union  Pacific  and  Central  Pacific  railroads  on  May  10,  1869, 
at  a  station  called  Promintory,  in  western  Utah.  "Was  passing 
back  and  forth  over  the  Union  Pacific  from  Cheyenne  to  Salt 
Lake  City.  Made  a  trip  to  Texas  in  1871.  Bought  a  herd  of 
cattle,  trailed  them  to  Utah  and  put  them  on  a  ranch.  Was 
married  to  Florence  Celia  Jenks  on  April  16,  1874,  by  Bishop 
Daniel  S.  Tuttle  at  the  Episcopal  Cathedral  in  Salt  Lake  City. 
In  March,  1876,  came  to  Cheyenne  for  the  purpose  of  organiz- 
ing a  stage  and  express  line  to  the  gold  diggings  in  the  Black 
Hills  (Cheyenne  to  Deadwood  Line). 

Organized  the  Deadwood  Stage  Line 

Organized  and  operated  the  Cheyenne-Deadwood  lines  with 
several  mail,  stage  and  express  lines  in  other  territories.  Tn 
1882,  went  into  the  live  stock  business,  buying  about  12,000 
head  of  mixed  cattle  and  putting  them  on  the  range  at  Rawhide 
Buttes.  This  caused  me  a  very  heavy  financial  loss.  Prom 
1889  to  1898,  followed  mining,  more  or  less. 

Early  Cheyenne  Enterprises 

I  have  always  taken  a  great  interest  in  the  upbuilding  of 
Cheyenne.  Organized  and  built  the  gas  works  throughout  the 
city;  also,  organized  and  built  a  street  railway  through  most 
of  the  business  streets,  including  a  line  over  the  viaduct  to  the 
South  side  of  Cheyenne,  the  cemetery  and  then  to  Camp  Carlin, 
towards  Fort  Russell.  Our  company  operated  at  a  loss  for 
some  considerable  time.  It  became  necessary  to  take  up  the 
track  over  the  city  and  turn  the  whole  business  into  the  junk 
pile.  Was  one  of  a  company  of  Cheyenne  men  who  built  an 
iron  foundry  and  operated  it  for  a  time,  when  it,  too,  went 
into  the  junk  pile  on  account  of  dull  times. 

Appointed  Territorial  Treasurer 

Was  appointed  territorial  treasurer,  being  the  first  officer 
to  occupy  the  then  new  Capitolv  building.  Served  for  some 
.time  after  the  territory  became  a  state.  Served  on  the  school 
board  for  nine  years,  being  president  of  the  board  during  the 
entire  term  of  nine  years.  Served  as  cpunty  treasurer  for  four 
years.  Was  appointed  by  President  Wilson,  in  May,  1913,  as 
Receiver  of  Public  Moneys  and  Disbursing  Agent  of  the  United 
States  Land  Office,  Cheyenne,  Wyoming. 


10  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

Explorers  and  Missionaries  As  Related  to  Bishop  Thomas 

Cheyenne,  Wyoming,  December  12,  1918. 
The  Right  Reverend  N.  S.  Thomas, 

Cheyenne,  Wyoming. 
My  dear  Bishop : 

I  have  from  memory  and  memorandum,  also  have  quoted 
from  various  articles  by  more  competent  writers  than  I,  given 
you  a  few  pages,  mostly  gathered  from  old  mountaineers  dur- 
ing the  years  1857  to  1880,  and  from  such  writers  as  Mr. 
Goldthwaites,  in  some  of  the  well-published  magazines — The 
Century,  Harpers,  etc.  Having  had  the  experience  of  the  over- 
land trail  from  old  Westport,  Missouri,  to  Walla  Walla,  Oregon, 
I  know  I  have  described  the  trail  correctly  in  its  correct  course 
across  the  continent.  I  have  also  of  Lewis  and  Clark  given  the 
most  authentic  details  from  personally  having  .traveled  over 
their  circuitous  meanderings  to  explore  a  then  unknown  coun- 
try. These  few  pages  you  can  peruse  at  your  leisure. 

In  1810-11,  Wilson  P.  Hunt,  Ramsey  Crooks,  Robert  McClel- 
lan  and  Donald  McKenzie,  with  a  party  of  trappers,  voyagers 
and  Indian  traders  left  Missouri  for  Astor's  trading  post  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  River.  Their  course  was  in  a  north- 
westerly direction  crossing  the  Big  Blue  River,  bearing  west 
to  the  Platte  River,  crossing  the  Platte,  then  up  the  north  side 
of  that  river  to  the  Sweetwater  to  Browns  Park,  Green  River, 
Hams  Fork,  Soda  Springs,  Fort  Hall — then  only  a  rendezvous 
for  the  trappers — Snake  River,  or  Lewis  and  Clarks  Fork,  of 
the  Columbia  River,  thence  westward  as  best  they  could  to 
Astor's  trading  post. 

In  1832,  four  chiefs  of  the  Flathead  tribe  arrived  in  St. 
Louis  from  what  is  now  known  as  Idaho  and  Washington. 
The  chiefs  went  to  General  William  Clark  (Lewis's  old  com- 
rade, then  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs),  and  asked  him 
to  send  the  Bible  to  their  people,  with  men  to  interpret  it. 
There  were  two  brothers,  Daniel  and  Jason  Lee,  with  three 
young  men  as  lay  readers,  all  going  with  Mr.  Samuel  J.  Wyeth 
on  his  expedition  in  1834,  in  response  to  the  call  of  the  Metho- 
dist Church,  made  by  the  request  of  the  Flathead  chiefs'  appeal, 
and  of  which  the  entire  country  heard.  The  Lees  were  the 
first  missionaries  from  the  United  States  to  the  Pacific  slope  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  They  established  posts  on  the  Willam- 
ette River  and  other  parts  of  Oregon.  These  posts  became 
rallying  points  for  immigrants,  who  were  then  beginning  to 
cross  the  continental  divides  and  who  made  the  first  overland 
trail. 

In  1835,  the  Reverend  Samuel  Parker  and  Doctor  Marcus 
Whitman    (a  physician),  were  sent  out  by  the  Presbyterian 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          11 

society  to  look  over  the  field  as  missionaries.  In  1836  Whitman 
returned  overland.  These  parties,  both  the  men  and  their 
wives,  were  later  massacred  by  the  Cayouses  (Indians). 

The  missionary  who  did  more  to  civilize  the  Flathead,  Pond- 
relies  and  other  Indians,  than  any  other  one  missionary,  was 
Father  Peter  John  De  Smet,  a  Jesuit.  He  established  and  built 
churches  and  schools  among  the  Indians  of  the  Northwest. 
On  my  trip  in  1863,  through  that  great  Northwestern  country, 
I  found  many  little  buildings  and  missions  established  and 
constructed  of  logs  with  a  cross  over  the  doors. 

John  C.  Fremont  in  1842  was  sent  out  to  explore  the  coun- 
try of  both  the  Missouri  River  and  Rocky  Mountains.  Fre- 
mont's published  work  in  1843,  pointed  out  the  best  camping 
places,  etc.,  which  were  followed  by  later  immigrants.  In  the 
spring  of  1943,  a  large  party  of  men  gathered  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Kansas  River.  Their  names  were  James  "W.  Nesmyth, 
Jesse  Applegate,  David  Waldo,  John  G.  Baker,  Thomas  G. 
Naylor  and  Peter  Burnett.  They  were  the  real  leaders  of  the 
party  who  left  that  point  on  June  1, 1843.  These  pioneers  were 
the  builders  of  the  great  West,  especially  the  great  states  of 
Oregon  and  Washington,  then  territories,  or  rather  the  Terri- 
tory of  Oregon.  In  many  places  along  the  route  traveled  by 
these  men  and  their  party,  their  names  were  carved  on  various 
bluffs,  rocks  and  trees  and  there  are  places  at  this  date  where 
these  can  be  seen.  In  the  party  were  many  women  and  chil- 
dren, two  hundred  wagons,  seven  hundred  head  of  the  finest  of 
cattle  and  horses,  household  furniture,  plows,  seeds,  etc.  It 
was,  in  fact,  the  segment  of  a  great  nation  moving,  and  such 
men  never  retreat.  The  gravest  of  the  many  dangers  in  making 
such  a  trip  was  the  great  "Bugaboo,"  the  American  Desert, 
and  the  fear  of  suffering  for  water ;  consequently,  the  route 
from  their  starting  point  was  for  the  first  100  miles  on  the 
old  Santa  Fe  Trail  to  a  point  called  Council  Grove.  From  thence 
across  to  the  Big  Blue  River,  then  to  the  Platte  River,  northerly 
up  the  Platte  and  North  Platte  to  Courthouse  Rock,  Chimney 
Rock,  old  Fort  Laramie,  then  following  up  the  Platte  to  the 
mouth  of  Sweetwater  River  to  Independence  Rock,  bearing 
north  again  of  Bear  Lake  to  the  mouth  of  Port  Neuff 
to  Soaake  River,  and  Fort  Hall,  th£n  across  the  lava  beds  to 
the  Boise  River  and  down  the 'Columbia  to  the  Willamette 
River.  That  was  really  the  marking  of  the  Overland  Trail, 
which  was  followed — and  no  other — until  1857. 

In  1844  the  immigration  was  very  great  to  the  Oregon 
country.  Points  of  leaving  the  Missouri  River  had  changed 


12  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

from  the  mouth  of  the  Kaw  River — Kansas  City  now — to  Coun- 
cil Bluffs.  From  there  they  followed  the  Platte  until  striking 
the  trail  of  the  Nesmyth-Baker  trail,  then  following  their  road 
to  Blacks  and  Hams  Pork  west  of  Green  River.  At  that  point 
there  were  trappers  who  informed  them  that  by  going  west- 
wardly  the  road  could  be  shortened ;  consequently,  many  times 
trains  of  wagons  would  divide  up,  taking  different  routes,  some 
going  to  Fort  Hall  trading  post,  others  leading  around  the 
north  of  the  great  Salt  Lake  to  the  Humboldt,  thence  northerly 
again.  As  late  as  1863,  I  saw  many  places  where  the  immi- 
grants had  been  attacked  by  Indians ;  such  evidences  as  graves 
with  headboards  of  pine  wood  giving  names  of  persons  and 
cause  of  death,  etc. ;  old  rusted  iron  of  wagons  such  as  the 
tires  and  bolts,  and  broken  guns,  etc.  These  battles  had  evi- 
dently many  times  been  fought  off  of  the  trail,  showing  that  the 
immigrants  had  by  getting  in  the  timber  and  fortifying,  made 
a  great  fight  until  death,  and  then  by  the  Indians  were  scalped, 
skeletons  usually  showing  arrow  wounds,  as  the  .  weapons 
of  the  Indians  at  that  date  (1844),  were  mostly  the  bow 
and  arrow.  Many  dangers  that  beset  the  immigrants  other 
than  Indians  were  the  immense  herds  of  buffalo  constantly 
crossing  the  trail,  stampeding  their  stock.  This  occurred  011 
the  plains.  The  ferrying  of  the  large  rivers  in  time  of  high 
water  was  all  done  by  removing  the  wagon  boxes,  calking  them, 
then  loading  every  man,  woman  and  child  into  them  and  rowing 
them  across,  which  was  very  dangerous.  Live  stock  were  all 
compelled  to  swim. 

When  England  abandoned  the  territory  below  the  49th 
parallel  the  trail  had  done  the  work  which  its  founders  had 
contemplated.  Such  men  as  Baker,  Nesmyth,  Naylor  and  Peter 
H.  Burnett,  and  before  them  Wyeth,  won  Oregon  to  us  and  for 
us.  Parties  of  immigrants  in  largely  increasing  numbers  in 
1845-46  (many  of  them  in  '46  Mormons),  and  1847,  then  crossed 
the  Missouri  at  St.  Joseph  and  Council  Bluffs  and  other  points. 
From  that  time  on  there  was  a  constant  line  of  prairie  schooners 
during  the  summer  months  up  to  1858-59,  when  Ben  Holliday 
took  the  contract  of  the  United  States  government  of  trans- 
porting the  United  States  mail  from  St.  Joseph,  Missouri,  to 
Salt  Lake  City  three  times  a  week.  Later  it  was  increased 
to  daily.  It  was  operated  on  the  Oregon  Overland  Trail  prac- 
tically following  it  to  Fort  Bridger,  sweeping  past  the  stream  of 
wagons,  which  averaged  about  15  miles  a  day ;  the  stage  coach 
averaging  120  miles  every  24  hours. 

There  is  no  question  as  to  the  line  of  the  old  Overland  Trail. 
In  1862,  during  the  months  of  September,  October  and  Novem- 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          13 

ber,  Mr.  Holliday  had  the  stock  and  equipment  of  the  stage 
line  moved  from  the  North  Platte  to  the  South  Platte  to  Denver, 
then  via  Fort  Collins,  Fort  Halleck,  Dale  Creek,  Laramie  Eiver, 
Cooper  Creek  to  North  Platte,  crossing  thence  over  Bridger's 
Pass,  Barrel  Springs,  Bitter  Creek,  Green  River,  Hams  Fork, 
where  it  connected  with  the  old  North  Platte-South  Pass  Trail. 

In  the  month  of  September,  1840,  Captain  Howard  Stans- 
burg,  who  was  sent  out  by  the  government  in  an  effort  to  learn 
the  best  and  most  feasible,  safest  and  shortest  route  for  the 
great  immigration  then  certain  to  leave  the  states  for  the  Pacific 
Coast  territories,  left  the  Platte  River  at  the  mouth  of  Lodge 
Pole  Creek,  following  it  to  Chugwater  Crossing  near  Iron 
Mountain,  making  from  there  to  the  Laramie  River  on  to  Salt 
Lake.  Stansburg  did  not  recommend  in  his  report  to  the  gov- 
ernment that  this  was  a  route  which  immigrants  should  under- 
take in  crossing  the  continent,  consequently  there  was  110 
attempt  to  make  this  route  a  practicable  immigrant  road.  In 
1857  some  venturesome  immigrants  left  the  main  Overland 
Trail  on  account  of  scarcity  of  grass  on  that  route,  caused  by 
the  great  numbers  of  immigrants  with  their  livestock  having 
camped  at  every  available  camping  place  where  there  was  water 
and  grass  on  the  old  North  Platte-Sweetwater-South  Pass 
Route.  The  1849  California  rush  to  the  gold  excitement  fol- 
lowed the  old  trail  to  the  great  Salt  Lake,  usually  keeping  north 
of  the  lake  to  the  Humboldt,  across  the  Sierra  Nevada  range 
to  the  Sacramento  River. 

Any  arrangements  that  are,  or  may  be  made,  to  raise  funds 
to  erect  markers  or  monuments  along  this  old  national  highway 
by  the  government  or  the  state  of  Wyoming,  or  any  association 
attempting  to  mark  the  old  Overland  Route  in  the  state,  could 
not  but  agree  that  the  North  Platte,  Courthouse  Rock,  Chimney 
Rock,  Fort  Laramie,  Independence  Rock,  Sweetwater,  South 
Pass,  Green  River,  Hams  Fort,  Fort  Hall  to  the  Columbia 
River,  is  the  only  route  generally  used  and  known  over  the 
world  as  the  old  Overland  Trail. 

Such  heroic  men  and  women  who  from  1806  to  1869  trav- 
ersed this  great  trail,  deserve  a  name  on  the  monuments  of 
fame  for  great  deeds.  Few  people  at  this  date  can  realize  the 
dangers  and  hardships  which  the  pioneers  endured,  that  did 
more  for  our  great  empire  than  any  class  of  men  since  that 
time.  In  a  larger  measure  than  any  other  thoroughfare  in 
the  United  States,  the  Oregon  Trail  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Kansas  or  Kaw  River  (old  West  Port)  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia  River:  was  the  trail  the  immense  stream  of  immi- 
grants made  in  their  march  to  the  Western  Empire. 


14  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

A  question  that  has  many  times  been  printed  and  is  being 
asked  as  a  matter  of  history,  is  the  question  as  to  who  was 
the  first  white  man  to  cross  the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  great 
American  Desert,  over  the  Sierra  Nevada  Range  to  the  Pacifis 
Coast.  Many  names  have  been  mentioned  by  various  writers 
and  men  who  claim  that  distinction.  From  all  I  have  ever  been 
able  to  learn  from  men,  who  in  the  earliest  of  pioneer  times, 
such  as  Kit  Carson,  Jim  Bridger,  Jim  Baker  and  Jim  Beck- 
wourth,  who  had  talked  with  traders  and  trappers  on  the  sub- 
ject as  to  who  was  the  first  white  man  to  penetrate  the  moun- 
tains, that  man  was  Jeldiah  Smith,  who  in  1792  made  the  trip 
alone  across  that  great  unknown  at  that  time.  If  prior  to  that 
time  anyone  other  than  natives  had  made  the  trip,  it  is  not 
known.  Smith  was  a  man  of  the  Daniel  Boone,  Davey  Crockett 
type,  and  relied  on  his  safety  from  his  own  courage. 

Yours  trulv, 

LUKE  VOORHEES. 

Reminiscences  of  Pioneer  Days  As  Published  From  Time  to 
Time  in  Wyoming  Newspapers 

Cheyenne  from  November  13,  1867,  the  date  the  track  of  the 
Union  Pacific  Railroad  was  completed  and  trains  running  to 
the  town,  during  the  winter  of  1868,  was  one  of  the  toughest 
places  on  the  railroad.  Being  the  point  that  Denver  and  most 
of  the  Territory  of  Colorado  received  their  goods  and  supplies, 
which  were  unloaded  for  the  Colorado  mines.  All  passengers 
for  Denver  were  transported  from  here  by  six-horse  Concord 
stages,  from  two  to  four  departing  and  arriving  daily,  loaded 
to  the  guards  with  passengers,  baggage  and  express.  There 
were  also  hundreds  of  mule  and  ox  trains  hauling  freight  to 
Denver.  The  mule  skinners,  bull-whackers  and  stage  drivers, 
together  with  all  kinds  of  the  very  worst  sort  of  sports  and 
gamblers,  followers  of  the  building  of  the  railroad,  made  Chey- 
enne a  wild  west  town,  with  all  that  the  wild  west  implies.  It 
was  practically  devoid  of  all  law  and  order. 

The  temporary  government  and  the  appointed  officers  of 
the  territory,  who  were  appointed  by  the  president  after  the 
organic  act  creating  a  territorial  government,  left  Cheyenne 
as  a  town  in  the  hands  of  the  roughs  and  toughs,  until  the  best 
citizens  and  business  men  took  it  upon  themselves  to  form  a 
committee  of  safety  or  vigilance  committee.  This  committee 
suppressed  to  a  certain  extent  the  lawlessness  of  the  thieves 
and  murders  by  seeing  that  a  number  were  hung  or  run  out  of 
town.  There  not  being  any  jails  or  place  constructed  to  confine 
a  criminal,  the  best  way  was  to  deal  out  immediate  punishment 
by  giving  the  toughts  a  trial  and  execution  without  any  inter- 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          15 

mission,  which  had  a  good  effect  on  the  bunco  and  three-card 
monte  gentry. 

A  Talk  by  Hon.  Luke  Vorhees  to  the  Old  Pioneers  of  Wyoming 
Delivered  at  the  State  Fair,  Douglas,  Wyo.,  Sept.  30,  1915. 

(Republished  by  request.) 

The  many  immigrants,  from  1810-11  up  to  recent  years, 
with  their  teams  of  oxen,  were  not  exactly  the  type  that  some 
great  poet  or  some  great  man  has  said:  "Westward  the  Star 
of  Empire  takes  it  way."  This  has  ever  been  the  history  of 
the  early  immigrant,  who  with  his  one  yoke  of  oxen,  turned 
his  face  toward  the  great  western  plains  and  mountains.  The 
natural  conditions  in  the  East  soon  became  crowded,  or  at  least 
many  of  us  felt  that  we  should  know  something  of  the  oppor- 
tunities that  were  so  alluringly  described  by  what  Fremont  and 
other  mountaineers  and  men  had  written  of  the  plains,  deserts 
and  mountains.  To  me  there  was  something  fascinating  about 
the  West,  that  created  in  me  a  feeling  of  unrest.  Often  the 
pioneer  endured  hardships  and  privation — yet  it  is  an  experi- 
ence he  rather  enjoys,  he  likes  to  be  put  to  the  test,  and  while 
we  are  helping  make  the  West,  the  West  is  helping  to  make  men 
of  us.  A  man  likes  to  be  a  creator  of  circumstances,  not  alto- 
gether a  creature  of  circumstances.  He  likes  to  lay  his  own 
foundation  to  his  own  liking. 

In  quoting  the  old  saying,  "The  Star  of  Empire  moves 
westward, ' '  if  the  Star  of  Empire  did  not  move  westward, 
stagnation  would  be  the  result  and  decay  would  be  inevitable. 
One  very  good  reason  why  the  new  is  built  better  than  the 
old  is,  it  has  as  a  rule  better  material — only  the  best  come  West. 
The  idle  and  shiftless  are  not  found  among  the  earlier  builders 
of  the  great  Western  States.  It  has  been  the  history  of  the 
Western  Pioneers — they  built  better  than  they  knew.  In  look- 
ing over  what  has  been  done  in  our  state  and  country,  we  are 
astonished  at  the  great  progress  that  has  been  made.  You  who 
are  here  today,  in  ten  years  from  now  those  that  may  be 
alive,  and  who  I  hope  of  you  that  are  alive  at  that  time,  may 
meet  here — you  can  call  the  attention  of  the  newcomers  to  the 
great  changes  made  in  ten  years.  Lands  that  can  now  be 
bought  for  $25.00  per  acre  will  be  selling  at  from  $100  to  $500 
per  acre.  Much  of  this  modern  talk  and  the  notoriety  some 
persons  who  are  placing  monuments  over  the  Oregon  Trail  to 
perpetuate  the  memory  of  the  old  California-Oregon  broad  road 
are  instead  attempting  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
makers  of  the  great  Overland  were  merely  plodders  and  their 
memory  should  be  forgotten,  so  that  these  sentimentalists  can 


16  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

make  a  name  for  themselves — not  for  you  nor  your  memory. 
You,  that  with  your  ox  teams,  made  it  possible  for  a  few  who 
at  this  date  can  in  a  Pullman  car  move  over  what  they  imagine 
w*as  the  Oregon  Trail  in  1842,  erecting  some  markers  in- 
scribed thereon,  erected  by  the  G.  O.  P.  or  D.  A.  R.  or  some 
such  society,  so  that  the  ceremonies  are  conducted  by  some 
would-be  hero,  so  that  his  or  her  name  may  appear  in  modern 
history.  Does  it  not  appear  to  you  old  plainsmen  and  moun- 
taineers present  here  today,  who  have  suffered  all  the  privations 
and  hardships  that  early  immigrants  had  to  endure  in  the 
fifties,  I  say,  don't  you  think  this  momument  business  at  the 
expense  of  taxpayers  of  this  state  is  a  lot  of  sentimental  rot? 
The  many  immigrants  who  lost  their  lives  by  starving  for  want 
of  food,  water — murdered,  many  of  them,  by  Indians,  names 
many  of  them  that  history  has  not — on  the  trail  they  helped  to 
make  the  tablets  or  stones  erected  should  read  to  their  memory, 
not  those  that  are  inscribing  their  names  on  these  shafts,  as 
having,  as  they  imagine,  achieved  great  and  lasting  glory. 

I  know  and  I  believe  a  few  of  you  who  are  here  today 
know,  that  a  trail  made  by  the  Indians,  who  inhabited  this 
part  of  Wyoming  long  before  the  year  1800;  at  least  we  are 
all,  I  believe,  well  satisfied  that  conditions  of,  and  the  forma- 
tion of,  the  ground  over  which  the  would-be  famous  historians 
dedicate  and  consecrate.  What  was  here  thousands  of  years 
before  the  hardy  immigrants,  who  risked  their  lives  in  making 
Oregon  and  California  and  enlarging  the  trail  to  these  terri- 
tories and  by  the  risk  of  their  all,  caused  historians  to  write 
of  and  advertise  the  great  West.  It  would  be  just  as  consistent 
a  proposition  for  some  member  of  the  Wyoming  legislature  to 
ask  for  an  appropriation,  get  it  passed — the  governor  oppoint 
a  committee  to  build,  erect,  dedicate  and  consecrate  a  spire, 
shaft,  or  great  monument  pointing  to  the  heavens  for  the  great 
benefit  and  good  of  the  present  and  recent  results  of  electricity. 
You  know  that  it  has  existed  here  since  the  creation  of  the 
heavens  and  the  earth.  I  say,  it  would  be  just  as  consistent 
to  ignore  Benjamin  Franklin,  Mr.  Edison  and  others,  who  have 
harnessed  electricity,  made  it  so  useful  and  beneficial  to  man- 
kind. Dedicate  to  electricity,  not  to  the  great  men  that  made 
it  possible  for  use. 

I  visited  the  Panama  Exposition  in  April  16,  17,  18  and  19, 
1914,  at  San  Francisco;  a  group  of  statuary  that  impressed 
me  most  was  the  one  standing  in  the  California  building.  In 
the  center  of  the  group  stands  a  yoke  of  oxen,  representing  a 
fine  type  of  the  immigrant  with  his  old-fashioned  wagon  and 
the  man  and  team  resting  in  the  road.  The  man  leaning  up 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          17 

against  the  oxen,  which  men  who  crossed  the  plains  in  the  fifties 
have  seen,  I  presume,  hundreds  of  times,  when  after  making 
a  hard  pull  up  a  hill  or  through  a  stretch  of  sand  while  the 
oxen  were  resting  the  drivers  would  lean  up  against  their 
team. 

I  quote  you  Secretary  of  the  Interior  Lane,  in  his  speech  at 
the  opening  of  the  Panama  Exposition : 

"The  sculptors  who  have  ennobled  these  buildings  with 
their  work  have  surely  given  full  wing  to  their  fancy  in  seeking 
to  symbolize  the  tale  which  this  exposition  tells.  Among  these 
figures  I  have  sought  for  one  which  would  represent  to  me  the 
significance  of  this  great  enterprise. 

"Prophets,  priests  and  kings  are  here,  conquerors  and  mys- 
tical figures  of  ancient  legend ;  but  these  do  not  speak  the  word 
I  hear. 

My  eye  is  drawn  to  the  least  conspicuous  of  all — the  modest 
figure  of  a  man  standing  beside  two  oxen,  which  look  down 
upon  the  court  of  the  nations,  where  East  and  West  come  face 
to  face. 

Towering  above  his  gaunt  figure  is  the  canopy  of  his 
prairie  schooner. 

"Gay  conquistadores  ride  beside  him,  and  one  must  look 
hard  to  see  this  simple,  plodding  figure. 

"Yet  that  man  is  to  me  the  one  hero  of  this  day.  "Without 
him  we  would  not  be  here. 

"Without  him  banners  would  not  fly,  nor  bands  play. 

I 1  Without  him  San  Francisco  would  not  be  today  the  gayest 
city  of  the  globe. 

"Shall  I  tell  you  who  he  is,  this  key  figure  in  the  arch 
of  our  enterprise? 

"That  slender,  dauntless,  plodding,  modest  figure  is  the 
American  pioneer. 

"  To  me  he  is,  indeed,  far  more ;  he  is  the  adventurous  spirit 
of  our  restless  race. 

"Long  ago  he  set  sail  with  Ulysses.  But  Ulysses  turned 
back. 

"He  sailed  again  with  Columbus  for  the  Indies  and  heard 
with  joy  the  quick  command,  'Sail  on,  sail  on  and  on.'  But 
the  westward  way  was  barred. 

"He  landed  at  Plymouth  Rock  and  with  his  dull-eyed  oxen, 


18  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

has  made  the  long,  long  journey  across  our  continent.    His  way 
has  been  hard,  slow,  momentous. 

"He  made  his  path  through  soggy,  sodden  forest,  where  the 
storms  of  a  thousand  years  conspired  to  block  his  way. 

"He  drank  with  delight  of  the  brackish  water  where  the 
wrild  beasts  wallowed. 

"He  trakked  through  the  yielding,  treacherous  snows  j 
forded  swift-running  waters;  crept  painfully  through  rocky 
gorges  where  Titans  had  been  at  play ;  clambered  up  mountain 
sides,  the  sport  of  avalanche  and  of  slide;  dared  the  limitless 
land  without  horizon ;  ground  his  teeth  upon  the  bitter  dust  of 
the  desert;  fainted  beneath  the  flail  of  the  raw  and  ruthless 
sun ;  starved,  thirsted,  fought ;  was  cast  down  but  never  broken ; 
and  he  never  turned  back. 

"Here  he  stands  at  last  beside  this  western  sea,  the  incar- 
nate soul  of  his  insatiable  race — the  American  pioneer. 
"Pity?    He  scorns  it.   . 
"Glory?    He  does  not  ask  it. 

"His  sons  and  daughters  are  scattered  along  the  path  he 
has  come. 

"Each  fence  post  tells  where  some  one  fell. 

* '  Each  farm,  brightening  now  with  the  first  smile  of  spring, 
was  once  a  battlefield,  where  men  and  women  fought  the  chok- 
ing horrors  of  starvation  and  isolation. 

"His  is  this  one  glory — he  found  the  way;  his  the  adventure. 

"It  is  life  that  he  felt,  life  that  compelled  him. 

"That  strange,  mysterious  thing  that  lifted  him  out  of  the 
primeval  muck  and  sent  him  climbing  upward — that  same 
strange  thing  has  pressed  him  onward,  held  out  new  visions  to 
his  wondering  eyes,  and  sung  new  songs  into  his  welcoming 
ears. 

"And  why? 

' l  In  his  long  wandering  he  has  had  time  to  think. 

"He  has  talked  with  the  stars,  and  they  have  taught  him 
not  to  ask  why. 
'"He  is  here. 

"He  has  seated  himself  upon  the  golden  sand  of  this  distant 
shore  and  has  said  to  himself  that  it  is  time  for  him  to  gather  his 
sons  about  him  that  they  may  talk;  that  they  may  tell  tales 
of  things  done. 

"Here  on  this  stretch  of  shore  he  has  built  the  outermost 
camp  fire  of  his  race  and  has  gathered  his  sons  that  they  may 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          19 

tell  each  other  of  the  progress  they  have  made — utter  man's 
prayers,  things  done  for  man. 

"His  sons  are  they  who  have  cut, continents  in  twain,  who 
have  slashed  God's  world  as  with  a  knife,  who  have  gleefully 
made  the  rebellious  seas  to  lift  man's  ship  across  the  barrier 
mountains  of  Panama. 

"This  thing  the  sons  of  the  pioneer  have  done — it  is  their 
prayer,  a  thing  done  for  man. 

"And  here,  too  these  sons  of  the  pioneer  will  tell  of  other 
things  they  do — how  they  fill  the  night  with  jewelled  light 
conjured  from  the  melting  snows  of  the  far-off  mountains; 
how  they  talk  together  across  the  world  in  their  own  voices; 
how  they  baffle  the  eagles  in  their  flight  through  the  air  and 
make  their  way  within  the  spectral  gloom  of  the  soundless 
sea;  how  they  reach  into  the  heavens  and  draw  down  food 
out  of  the  air  to  replenish  the  wasted  earth. 

"These  things  and  more  have  they  done  in  these  latter  days, 
these  sons  of  the  pioneer. 

"And  in  their  honor  he  has  fashioned  this  beautiful  city  of 
dreams  come  true. 

"In  their  honor  has  he  hung  the  heavens  with  flowers  and 
added  new  stars  to  the  night. 

' '  In  blue  and  gold,  in  scarlet  and  purple,  in  the  green  of  the 
shallow  sea  and  the  burnt  brown  of  the  summer  hillside,  he  has 
made  the  architecture  of  the  centuries  to  march  before  their 
eyes  in  column,  colonade  and  court. 

"We  have  but  to  anchor  his  quaint  covered  wagon  to  the 
soil  and  soon  it  rises  transformed  into  the  vane  of  some  mighty 
cathedral. 

"For  after  all,  Rome  and  Rheims,  Salisbury  and  Seville, 
are  not  far  memories  to  the  pioneer. 

"Here,  too,  in  this  city  of  the  nation,  the  pioneer  has  called 
together  all  his  neighbors  that  we  may  learn  one  of  the  other. 

"We  are  to  live  together  side  by  side  for  all  time. 

"The  seas  are  but  a  highway  between  the  doorways  of  the 
nations.  i 

"We  are  to  know  each  other. 

"Perhaps  strained  nerves  may  sometimes  fancy  the  gesture 
of  the  pioneer  to  be  abrupt,  and  his  voice  we  know  has  been 
hardened  by  the  winter  winds. 


20  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

"But  his  neighbors  will  soon  come  to  know  that  he  has  no 
hatred  in  his  heart,  for  he  is  without  fear;  that  he  is  without 
envy,  for  none  can  add  to  his  wealth. 

The  long  journey  of  this  slight  modest  figure  that  stands 
beside  the  oxen  is  at  an  end. 

"The  waste  places  of  the  earth  have  been  found. 

"But  adventure  is  not  to  end. 

' '  Here  in  this  house  will  be  taught  the  gospel  of  an  advanc- 
ing democracy) — strong,  valiant,  confident,  conquering — up- 
borne and  typified  by  the  independent,  venturesome  spirit  of 
that  mystic  materialist,  the  American  pioneer. 

Organization  of  Wyoming  Territory 

In  October,  1859,  I  rode  from  Pawnee  Buttes  north  a  few 
miles  to  a  heavy  wooded  butte,  now  called  Pine  Bluffs,  (now 
denuded  of  the  "pine"),  which  overlooked  a  beautiful  plain 
or  valley.  It  being  the  time  of  year  when  the  buffalo  were 
migrating  to  the  south,  the  entire  valley  as  far  as  I  could  see 
was  one  continuous  herd  of  buffalo.  A  most  beautiful  sight, 
although  I  had  for  two  years  been  almost  constantly  in  sight 
of  large  herds  of  fine  buffalo.  This  picture  seemed  to  be  the 
most  perfect  of  all  of  the  great  plain's  panoramas. 

I  last  fall,  1912,  passed  over  the  same  valley  and  the  con- 
trast was  a  most  interesting  one.  Instead  of  the  vast  herds  of 
buffalo,  the  valley  was  much  of  it  covered,  or  dotted  with  fields 
and  stacks  of  the  finest  of  different  kinds  of  grain.  It  seemed 
to  be  a  wonderful  transformation,  although  fifty-three  years 
had  elapsed,  but  it  seemed  only  a  few  months  from  the  time  I 
first  viewed  the  buffalo,  until  the  neat  wheat  fields  appeared. 

On  July  25th,  1868,  the  act  to  provide  a  temporary  govern- 
ment for  the  territory  of  Wyoming,  became  a  law.  The  area 
of  the  territory  was  97,625  square  miles.  Federal  appointments 
for  nearly  all  offices  were  made  during  April,  1869,  and  on  the 
10th  day  of  May  following  the  governmental  machinery  was  in 
working  order.  The  federal  officers  were:  J.  A.  Campbell, 
governor ;  Edward  M.  Lee,  secretary ;  Church  Howe,  U.  S.  mar- 
shal; J.  M.  Carey,  United  States  attorney;  John  M.  Howe, 
chief  justice ;  J.  W.  Bingham  and  W.  S.  Jones,  associate  jus- 
tices ;  C.  D.  Berger,  surveyor  general ;  Frank  Wolcott,  receiver 
of  public  land  office.  The  first  legislative  assembly  in  Wyo- 
ming organized  at  Cheyenne,  October  12,  1869,  with  William 
Bright  as  president  of  the  council  and  S.  M.  Curran  speaker 
of  the  house.  The  legislature  adjourned  sine  die  on  the  10th 
of  December,  after  having  enacted  the  first  laws  that  were 
considered  really  binding  by  the  people  of  this  section.  The 
session  was  a  harmonious  one.  This  was  in  olden  days. 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          21 

I  often  heard  in  1868  and  1869,  claims  made  by  various  old- 
timers  as  to  who  built  the  first  house  on  the  Cheyenne  townsite. 
In  conversation  with  J.  R.  Whitehead,  who  was  one  of  the 
very  first  persons  to  settle  in  Cheyenne,  he  said : 

"Well,  one  fine  day  early  in  July,  1867,  four  or  five  hundred 
of  us  pitched  our  tents  here,  where  there  was  not  a  sign  of 
civilization.  About  half  of  us  woke  up  at  daylight  the  next 
morning,  to  find  that  the  other  half  were  living  in  board  shan- 
ties called  houses." 

That  is  about  the  history  of  one  who  built  the  first  house 
in  Cheyenne. 

Everyone  of  the  first  appointees  by  the  president,  who  com- 
posed the  first  officers  of  the  territory  of  Wyoming,  have  all 
passed  to  that  great  beyond,  excepting  now  Governor  J.  M. 
Carey,  who  was  the  first  United  States  attorney  for  Wyoming. 

Governor  Carey  has  been  appointed  and  elected  to  many 
high  offices  in  Wyoming  since  his  coming  to  the  territory. 
After  the  office  of  United  States  attorney,  he  was  appointed 
one  of  the  associate  justices,  later  elected  mayor  of  Cheyenne, 
elected  to  congress,  and  served  until  the  enabling  act  by  con- 
gress for  a  state.  After  it  became  a  state,  he  was  elected 
United  States  senator,  and  in  1910  was  elected  governor  of  the 
state. 

Reminiscences  of  Old  Timer 

In  May  10,  1869,  I  was  at  the  driving  of  the  golden  spike 
and  laying  of  the  last  rail  connecting  the  Union  Pacific  and  Cen- 
tral Pacific  railroads  at  Promontory,  Utah.  It  was  a  most  nota- 
ble gathering  of  great  men.  Men  that  had  just  completed  the 
greatest  feat  of  railroad  building  then  known  in  America.  They 
were  men  that  did  great  things,  workers  who  distinguished 
themselves  by  their  great  works  in  the  west.  It  seemed  to  me  at 
that  time  that  I  had  never  been  so  impressed  at  any  gathering  I 
had  attended  as  the  meeting  on  that  occasion.  Oakes  Ames, 
Oliver  Ames,  Sidney  Dillon,  Jay  Gould,  General  Dodge,  G. 
Francis  Train,  General  Sherman  and  General  Sheridan  of  the 
Union  Pacific,  and  Leland  Stanford,  D.  0.  Mills,  Crocker,  Mac- 
Kay,  Flood  and  0  'Brien  of  the  Central  Pacific,  and  many  others 
'that  I  had  some  acquaintance  with  in  mining  camps  in  Cali- 
fornia, Montana,  Nevada  and  Idaho.  Speeches  made  there  were 
short  but  to  the  point.  The  builders  had  confidence  in  the 
ultimate  good  results  as  to  it  paying  the  company  and  the 
United  States  government,  which  had  furnished  means  and 
money,  yet  I  recollect  many ;  in  fact,  a  great  many,  who  were 
so  skeptical  that  failure  and  abandoning  the  road  would  be 
the  ultimate  result  as  they  saw  it  at  that  time;  I  recollect  of 
hearing  some  gentlemen  discussing  the  railroad  from  Omaha 


22  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

to  San  Francisco  and  one  remarked  that  within  twenty  years 
from  the  laying  of  the  last  rail  there  would  be  but  two  streaks 
of  rust  to  show  for  the  great  work  and  cost  to  the  government. 
The  builders  were  as  sure  of  about  what  has  since  proved  to 
be  the  result  as  it  was  possible  for  men  who  look  ahead  and 
are  workers  to  make  a  great  enterprise  a  success.  Many  old- 
timers  now  are  as  skeptical  on  dry  farming  as  they  were  on 
the  Pacific  railroads,  and  now  from  long  residence  in  the  west 
I  believe  that  in  twenty  years  the  great  number  of  disbelievers 
in  good  farming  will  be  as  greatly  surprised  at  the  productive 
possibilities  of  the  plains  between  Cheyenne  and  Pine  Bluffs. 

Company  Out  at  Pine  Bluffs 

In  the  spring  of  1857  some  venturesome  men  with  good 
teams  and  well  supplied  with  arms  and  provisions  for  any 
emergency  that  might  come  up,  left  the  old  route  and  followed 
up  the  Lodge  Pole  Creek  to  where  Sidney,  Nebraska,  now 
stands  and  on  west  to  the  Pine  Bluffs  (known  then  as  the 
wooded  bluffs),  which  are  south  of  the  town  of  Pine  Bluffs. 
This  place  became  famous  as  a  camping  ground  after  the  im- 
migration followed  Lodge  Pole  Creek. 

The  fine  springs,  abundant  grass  and  pine  wood  enabled 
them  to  do  a  month's  washing,  for  up  to  this  point  the  only 
fuel  they  had  was  buffalo  chips. 

Thus  it  was  that  Pine  Bluffs  became  a  great  continuous 
encampment  from  about  May  15th  to  October  1st  for  many 
years. 

Few  people  at  the  present  time  realize  how  much  enjoy- 
ment there  was  at  this  Pine  Bluffs  camping  ground,  with  pure 
water  and  good  wood  for  cooking  the  choice  cuts  of  young 
buffalo,  black  tail  deer  and  antelope  all  being  plentiful  and 
very  fat. 

During  the  building  of  the  Union  Pacific  railroad,  more 
especially  the  summer  of  1867,  Canada  Bill  worked  up  and 
down  the  little  towns  which  sprang  up  as  the  road  progressed. 
He  would  appear  with  his  three  dirty  cards,  which  he  would 
show  the  lookers-on  and  tell  them  how  to  guess  the  proper 
cards  so  as  to  win  $20  or  $50,  just  an  easy  matter,  as  Canada 
would  explain,  but  the  card  bet  on  by  the  suckers  always 
lost. 

Bill  said  he  would  pay  the  management  of  the  railroad 
$5,000  a  year  for  permission  to  exert  himself  with  three  cards 
and  would  guarantee  not  to  molest  or  work  anyone  except 
ministers  or  Mormons. 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          23 

A  Jail  Tent  Moved  by  Prisoners 

I  recollect  an  incident  which  happened  in  the  summer  of 
1868.  A  couple  of  old  fellows,  J.  W.  Mclntyre  and  James 
McNasser,  from  Denver,  who  came  up  to  look  over  Cheyenne, 
and  being  of  a  convivial  turn  of  mind,  imbibed  pretty  freely 
of  Missouri  whiskey,  which  caused  them  to  be  over-boisterous ; 
so  much  so  that  the  acting  city  marshal  concluded  it  was  safer 
to  put  them  in  the  calaboose,  which  consisted  of  an  ordinary 
tent,  20  by  20,  set  up  without  anything  more  than  the  canvas. 
During  the  night  after  sobering  up  so  they  could  think  sanely 
and  consider  their  real  condition,  as  it  was  the  first  time  either 
of  them  had  ever  been  in  jail,  they  concluded  to  play  a  joke  on 
the  city  officers.  They  moved  the  tent  and  set  it  up  about 
a  mile  east  of  town.  The  city  marshal  upon  going  to  where  the 
tent  had  stood  the  night  before,  was  amazed  to  find  neither 
tent  nor  prisoners.  He  at  once  called  for  assistance  to  discover 
the  whereabouts  of  the  tent  and  prisoners.  They  were  finally 
found  near  the  banks  of  Crow  Creek. 

The  reason  they  gave  the  city  marshal  for  moving  was  that 
they  wanted  a  drink  and  in  order  not  to  break  jail  they  believed 
the  safest  way  was  to  move  the  whole  shooting  match  (as  they 
explained  it)  where  there  was  clear  water  to  drink,  the  marshal 
found  them  in  the  tent  with  a  pail  of  water  and  a  tin  cup, 
prisoners  of  the  city. 

The  fact  is  they  were  both  men  of  prominence.  Mclntyre 
was  a  mining  man  and  McNassar  was  the  owner  and  proprietor 
of  the  Planters  House,  Denver,  then  the  best  hotel  in  the 
west. 

EXPERIENCES  WITH  INDIANS 

Attacks  and  Robberies  On  the  Stage  Line.     General  Crook 

Sends  Troops.    Killing  of  Henry  T.  Brown  and  Thomas 

Hunton,  Military  Operations,  in  1876  and  1877 

Among  my  leading  experiences  in  the  west  with  Indians 
and  stage  robbers  was  on  our  Black  Hills  stage  lines  from 
February,  1876,  until  1882.  I  came  from  Salt  Lake  City  to 
Cheyenne,  February  17,  1876,  to  organize  the  Cheyenne  and 
Black  Hills  Stage,  Mail  &  Express  Company.  The  excitement 
being  at  a  white  heat  about  the  fabulous  gold  diggings  in  the 
Black  Hills.  I,  with  the  parties  interested  in  the  enterprise, 
were  anxious  to  get  the  line  in  operation  at  once,  which  I  did 
as  soon  as  possible.  I  had  buyers  out  getting  horses  as  fast 
as  possible,  as  I  had  to  have  600  head.  I  ordered  30  Concord 
coaches  made  as  early  as  possible  and  shipped  to  Cheyenne 
with  all  haste. 


24  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

I  found  many  rumors  of  Indian  fights  with  the  prospectors 
and  miners  in  the  hills  and  on  the  road  from  Cheyenne  to  Dead- 
wood. 

New  Stage  Line  Gets  Under  Way 

I  succeeded  in  getting  some  horses  and  mules  with  a  fair 
equipment,  enough  to  start  a  tri-weekly  line,  which  was  inade- 
quate to  carry  the  rush  of  tenderfoot  prospectors.  I,  with  all 
dispatch  possible,  succeeded  in  making  the  line  a  daily  six- 
horse  Concord  coach 'line.  Both  horses  and  coaches  were  of 
the  very  best.  I  encountered  all  sorts  of  trouble  with  men  on 
account  of  constant  reports  of  Indian  raids  on  the  line,  and 
fights  that  General  Crook  with  his  troops  had  with  the  red- 
skins. On  March  25,  one  of  my  men — Jake  Harker — in  carry- 
ing the  mail  from  Hat  Creek  to  Camp  Robinson,  was  killed 
and  scalped,  the  mail  sack  cut  open,  letters  scattered  around 
the  dead  body  of  Harker,  found  by  men  I  sent  out  to  look  for 
him.  This  was  the  first  one  of  my  men  that  the  Indians  killed, 
and  naturally  made  them  more  cautious,  some  of  them  refusing 
to  take  their  drives  over  the  road. 

On  March  22,  I  received  the  following  message : 

"Fort  Laramie,  Wyo. 
"Luke  Voorhees,  •*• 

' '  Cheyenne. 

"Word  was  received  here  tonight  by  messenger  direct  from 
Custer  City  of  a  fight  between  some  miners  and  a  band  of  Sioux 
Indians  of  the  tribe  of  Chief  Crazy  Horse,  on  Deadwood  Creek, 
about  60  miles  northwest  of  Custer  City.  The  miners,  it  seems, 
attacked  the  Indians,  killing  13  of  the  redskins.  One  white 
miner  killed.  The  Indians  had  been  stealing  the  miners '  horses. 
The  advice  from  the  north  is  for  you  to  expect  more  trouble 
on  your  stage  line  from  the  Indians,  who  are  on  the  war- 
path. 

"JOHN  FORD, 
"Agent  at  Fort  Laramie." 

"Fort  Fetterman,  March  29,  1876. 
"Luke  Voorhees, 

"Cheyenne,  Wyo. 

"General  Crook  left  here  for  Omaha  yesterday  morning, 
We  can  hardly  believe  that  General  Crook  will  be  taken  from 
this  department,  as  he  is  the  best  Indian  fighter  known  at 
this  time.  It  is  also  reported  that  General  Hazen  left  the 
Missouri  river  two  weeks  ago  with  a  force  of  cavalry  for  the 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          25 

Big  Horn  country.  If  General  Crook  is  left  in  command,  the 
combined  forces  of  Hazen,  Crook  and  General  Ouster,  they  can 
make  a,  goodly  number  of  good  Indians. 

"FORD, 
"Agent. 

On  April  13,  1876,  I  received  the  following  message : 
"Luke  Voorhees,  "Fort  Laramie. 

' '  Cheyenne,  Wyo. 

"A  soldier  who  belongs  to  the  Fourth  Infantry  arrived 
here  yesterday  and  reports  he  and  five  others  were  attacked 
by  a  small  band  of  Indians  a  few  miles  south  of  Cheyenne 
River,  near  your  station,  and  a  man  named  Norman  Storms, 
of  Iowa,  was  shot,  killed  and  scalped.  Another  man  was 
wounded,  but  not  seriously.  We  brought  him  away  with  us. 
The  Indians  are  very  numerous,  he  reports,  and  are  running 
off  much  stock.  And  your  men  are  in  great  danger  at, all  your 
stations  north  of  Fort  Laramie,  and  we  are  much  alarmed  about 
your  men  at  the  stations.  "FORD, 

"Agent." 

Indians  Always  Were  a  Menace 

After  I  had  received  word  from  Fort  Laramie,  March  22, 
1876,  that  there  would  undoubtedly  be  more  trouble  along  the 
stage  line  between  Cheyenne  and  Deadwood,  from  the  Sioux 
Indians,  I  addressed  a  letter  to  General  Crook,  asking  him 
when  convenient  to  inform  me  so  far  as  he  could  of  the  move- 
ments of  the  Indians  and  about  when  and  where  he  would 
be  likely  to  attack  Spotted  Tail  and  his  band. 

I,  on  March  23,  received  a  copy  of  the  following  message : 

"Fort  Reno  via  Fort  Fetterman,  March  23,  1876. 
"Lieut.  Gen.  Phillip  Sheridan, 
"Fort  Laramie,  Wyo. 

"We  arrived  here  today  after  one  of  the  hardest  cam- 
paigns I  ever  experienced  in  the  west.  We  succeeded  in 
breaking  up  Crazy  Horse's  band  of  Cheyenne  and  Minne- 
conajos,  killing  more  than  100  Indians  and  burning  their  village 
on  Little  Powder  River.  An  immense  quantity  of  ammunition, 
arms  and  dried  meats  were  stored  in  tfheir  lodges,  all  of  which 
we  destroyed. 

*  *  Our  loss  was  four  men  killed  and  eight  wounded. 

"Snow  has  fallen  every  day  during  the  campaign,  the 
weather  being  intensely  cold. 

"I  cut  loose  from  the  wagon  train  on  the  17th  and  scouted 
Tongue  and  Rosebud  Rivers. 


26  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

' '  General  Reynolds,  with  a  part  of  the  command,  was  pushed 
forward  on  a  trail  leading  to  the  village  of  Crazy  Horse,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Little  Powder.  This  he  attacked  and  destroyed. 

"Crazy  Horse  had  with  him  in  all  about  one-half  the  Indians 
of  the  reservation. 

"I  would  again  urgently  recommend  the  transfer  of  these 
Indians  to  the  agencies  on  the  Missouri  River. 

"I  am  satisfied  that  if  Sitting  Bull  is  on  this  side  of  the 
Yellowstone  that  he  is  camped  at  the  mouth  of  Powder  River. 

(Signed)  "GEO.  CROOK, 

"Brigadier  General." 

My  great  danger  was  caused  from  the  certainty  that  a 
part  of  these  Indians  would  cross  our  road  from  Cheyenne  to 
Deadwood  on  returning  to  Red  Cloud  agency.  Should  they 
cross  our  road  at  a  time  when  any  of  our  stages  might  be  in 
sight  or  near  a  station,  they  would  clean  up  the  outfit.  General 
Crook  was  constantly  after  them  and  pushed  them  for  all  that 
was  out,  yet  there  were  some  eastern  philanthropists  who  were 
stirring  up  and  agitating  General  Crook's  conduct,  as  it  was 
said  by  them  he  was  killing  too  many  Indians.  That  he  was 
not  dealing  kindly  with  them. 

Loses  Friend  Through  Work  of  Indians 

After  the  Indians  shot  Henry  E.  Brown  on  the  evening  of 
April  19,  1876,  my  men  at  Hat  Creek  stage  station,  waited  all 
night  for  the  stage  to  arrive  from  Custer  City,  not  hearing 
any  word  from  it,  three  of  the  men,  with  good  guns  and  horses, 
started  out  north  in  search  of  it.  Knowing  that  Indians  had 
been  seen  on  the  stage  road  the  day  before,  they  were  careful 
and  cautious,  being  men  with  experience  in  Indian  warfare. 
No  Indians  were  discovered  that  morning.  Brown  was  found 
lying  in  the  road  but  not  dead  at  that  time.  They  made  a 
litter  and  carried  him  to  Hat  Creek  station.  A  messenger  was 
sent  to  Fort  Laramie  with  a  message  to  me  to  try  and  have  a 
surgeon  from  Fort  Laramie  sent  to  him.  I  wired  the  command- 
ing officer,  asking  for  a  surgeon  and  escort,  if  possible,  to  go 
north  with  all  speed  and  try  and  give  Brown  such  surgical  aid 
as  could  be  rendered,  but  on  the  arrival  of  the  surgeon  he  at 
once,  on  making  the  examination,  pronounced  the  wound  fatal, 
although  Brown  lived  about  24  hours  through  great  suffering. 
I  made  an  all-night  ride  with  relays  of  horses  every  ten 
miles,  to  try  and  reach  Brown  before  he  died,  as  he  begged 
the  men  to  ride  their  best,  regardless  of  the  horses,  but  keep 
going  as  he  must  see  me  before  he  died.  I  arrived  at  Fort 
Laramie  from  Cheyenne  in  nine  hours,  changed  horses  and 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          27 

struck  out  for  Hat  Creek.  At  about  1  o'clock  in  the  morning 
I  met  the  escort  with  the  remains  of  Brown  at  Rawhide  Buttes. 
I  telegraphed  on  my  arrival  at  Fort  Laramie  to  Cheyenne  for  an 
embalmer  to  come  on  to  meet  me  so  the  body  could  be  properly 
cared  for,  to  be  shipped  from  Cheyenne  to  Omaha,  at  his 
home. 

Efficient  General  Had  a  Big  Task 

The  Indian  troubles  on  our  Black  Hills  stage  lines  during 
the  years  of  1876  and  1877  were  many.  General  Crook,  with 
troops  under  him,  had  to  cover  the  country  from  Cheyenne  to 
the  Big  Horn  River.  The  greater  portion  of  Red  Cloud,  Crazy 
Horse  and  Spotted  Tail  bands  were  supposed  to  be  under  the 
control  of  the  Indian  agent  at  the  Red  Cloud  agency,  which 
at  that  time  was  about  where  Crawford,  Nebraska,  now  stands. 
It  was  impossible  for  the  agent  to  control  the  Indians,  or  in 
any  way  keep  then  on  their  reservations.  General  Crook  had 
so  much  territory  to  cover  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to 
guard  every  part  of  the  north  country.  All  of  us  who  knew 
General  Crook  knew  him  to  be  one  of  the  bravest  men  and 
always  on  the  watch.  With  such  officers  as  Colonel  Stantonr 
Captain  Egan  and  many  other  brave  officers,  and  with  Frank 
Gruard,  a  half-breed,  for  his  chief  scout,  caused  the  Indians 
to  move  often  and  quickly. 

Neither  the  severe  cold  weather  nor  the  want  of  comfort- 
able clothing  and  tents  deterred  General  Crook  from  pushing 
the  Indians.  There  were  some  failures  on  account  of  an 
officer  not  doing  his  whole  duty,  such  as  the  failure  of  Cap- 
tain Moore  allowing  the  Indians  to  escape  with  their  ponies 
after  they  had  (a  large  number  of  at  least  700)  been  captured. 
Moore's  battalion  was  a  strong  one  in  numbers  and  brave, 
only  needing  a  brave  leader.  Colonel  Stanton,  with  a  small 
number  of  troops,  took  up  a  position  when  the  Indians  made  the 
attack  .to  recover  their  ponies  and  by  enfilading  fire  (his 
bugler  sounding  the  charge  (gave  the  savages  to  understand 
the  whole  of  Moore's  command  was  ready  for  them,  but  as 
Captain  Moore  failed  to  go  to  Stanton 's  aid,  the  Indians  suc- 
ceeded in  recovering  all  of  their  ponies.  Had  that  been  pre- 
vented the  Indians  would  have  been  glad  to  make  another 
treaty.  Captain  Moore 's  battalion  was  a  part  of  General  Reyn- 
olds'  command.  t 

Blunder  Cost  Troops  Valuable  Victory 

It  was  a  serious  blunder  of  Reynolds  and  Moore,  and  in  vio- 
lation of  General  Crook's  orders.  The  orders  were  to  shoot  all 
ponies  captured,  as  it  was  a  well  known  fact  that  Indians  will 
not  fight  without  ponies  to  ride.  General  Reynolds  was  court- 


28  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

martialed  for  his  failure  to  carry  out  orders.  Another  inex- 
cusable blunder  was  when  General  Reynolds  left  the  battlefield, 
not  even  taking  with  him  his  wounded  or  burying  his  dead. 
The  Indians  scalped  and  mutiliated  both  the  dead  and  the 
wounded.  The  excuse  Reynolds  offered  was  that  his  men  were 
and  had  been  on  half  rations,  the  cold  weather  so  severe  (it 
being  below  zero),  the  general  saw  his  men  freezing  their  hands 
and  feet,  so  he  did  not  feel  so  much  to  blame  in  making  camp 
and  preparing  hot  coffee  for  his  half-famished  soldiers. 

All  Was  Not  Sadness  and  Sorrow 

Of  course  there  were  many  ludicrous  and  funny  incidents 
during  such  times,  as  well  as  the  serious  features,  such  as  hav- 
ing one  of  your  best  friends  killed.  On  my  trip  from  Fort  Lara- 
mie  to  Cheyenne  with  the  remains  of  Mr.  Brown,  there  were 
no  signs  of  Indians  on  the  road,  yet  there  had  been  two  small 
bands  seen  the  day  before  in  the  vicinity  of  what  is  now  the 
Wheatland  settlement,  but  it  was  an  old  saying  with  the  moun- 
tain men,  when  there  were  no  signs  of  Indians,  was  the  most 
imminent  danger.  It  came  very  near  being  the  case  on  this  trip. 
I  had  not  passed  Bordeau  ranch  (then  owned  by  County  Com- 
missioner Hunton),  but  about  four  miles,  when  about  18  buck 
Indians  swooped  down  on  a  ranch  in  broad  daylight  and  cut 
out  a  fine  band  of  horses  and  pushed  them  over  in  the  hills. 
This  was  done  about  30  minutes  after  I  had  passed  there.  A 
man  who  saw  the  Indians  rode  to  the  Hunton  ranch,  near 
where  a  corporal  and  seven  soldiers  were  stationed.  I  had  got 
permission  from  General  Crook  to  have  them  stationed  there 
for  a  time  to  protect  the  mails  and  to  give  confidence  to  the 
freighters  and  immigrants  passing  over  the  road. 

Thomas  Hunton,  with  the  soldiers  and  such  men  as  he  could 
get  together  quickly,  well  armed  and  mounted,  hurriedly  start- 
ed to  recover  the  stock.  Hunton  and  the  men  with  him  on  over- 
taking the  Indians  found  that  a  few  of  the  reds  were  making  for 
Laramie  Peak,  while  the  main  warriors  were  hid  in  the  rocks 
and  bluffs  awaiting  the  soldiers  and  men.  The  Indians  knew 
that  the  settlers  along  the  Chugwater  were  men  who  know  how 
to  fight  Indians  where  the  numbers  were  anywhere  near  equal. 
But  Hunton  on  getting  sight  of  the  Indians  saw  that  they  out- 
numbered his  crowd  two  to  one,  and  the  Indians  being  down 
among  the  boulders,  had  a  great  advantage  over  the  whites. 
At  the  second  fusilade  by  the  warriors,  Hunton  said:  "Boys, 
we  have  to  get  out  of  this  and  quick,  at  that,"  as  there  were 
two  of  the  soldiers  already  killed  or  fatally  wounded.  Some  of 
the  men  were  much  better  mounted  than  others,  and  as  it 
seemed  to  be  a  case  to  get  out  quick,  they  did  their  best  with 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          29 

spurs  and  quirt.  One  of  the  men,  named  Ash,  on  an  old  mule 
which  had  not  smelled  the  Indians,  and  was  falling  behind. 
Ash  called  out  frantically:  "Boys,  don't  leave  me;  we  can 
whip  them  if  we  stick  together  and  fight.  Don't  leave  a  fellow 
to  do  all  the  fighting. ' '  But  in  the  meantime  Ash  was  doing  all 
the  persuading  he  could  with  his  spurs  and  quirt  to  follow 
when  an  Indian  got  up  with  a  buffalo  robe  over  him  and  gave 
an  Indian  war  whoop.  It  was  magic  to  the  mule.  He  lit  out, 
passing  all  of  the  others.  Ash,  in  the  meantime,  had  changed 
his  idea  of  whipping  the  Indians  and  was  willing  to  leave, 
which  he  did,  saying  as  he  and  his  old  mule  were  speeding: 
"Come  on  boys;  they  will  kill  all  of  us;  there  is  a  million  of 
them-" 

PERILS  AND  TRIALS  OF  EARLY  STAGE 

COACH  DAYS  AND  OTHER  REMINISCENCES 

(Published  in  State  Leader  On  Its  Golden  Anniversary  July 

15,  1917) 

It  is  Cheyenne's  good  fortune  to  be  able  to  number  among 
her  best  loved  citizens,  one  whose  long  and  useful  life  has  been 
closely  interwoven  for  some  years  beyond  the  span  of  a  half 
century,  with  the  many  activities  which  have  gone  to  aid  in  the 
material  upbuilding  of  the  state.  Here  in  1857,  years  before 
the  city  of  Cheyenne  was  dreamed  of;  here  in  the  days  when 
the  trapper,  the  prospector  and  the  soldier  of  the  frontier  posts 
were  the  only  white  inhabitants  of  what  is  now  the  state  of 
Wyoming ;  there  are  precious  few  whose  store  of  personal  rem- 
iniscences of  the  early  days  can  rival  those  of  Luke  Yoorhees, 
at  present  receiver  of  the  federal  land  office. 

Added  to  a  most  retentive  memory  of  the  scenes  and  places 
of  the  early  day,  Mr.  Voorhees  has  been  blessed  with  the  ability 
to  transfer  his  impressions  to  writing,  and  has  left  to  posterity 
a  most  wonderful  collection  of  short  articles,  depicting  per- 
sonal experiences  of  the  early  stage  coach  days.  He  was  inti- 
mately associated  with  the  first  stage  coach  line  between  this 
city  and  the  Black  Hills  district;  he  has  traveled  every  nook 
and  corner  of  the  state  in  the  days  when  the  Redman  held 
sway  and  history  was  in  its  infancy,  and  his  accounts  of  these 
early  day  happenings  and  adventures  cannot  but  be  of  extreme 
interest  on  this  anniversary  of  the  founding  of  this  city. 

Some  of  the  sketches  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Voorhees  here 
presented  have  been  published  before ;  some  have  never  before 
been  set  in  type;  all  of  them  are  worth  reading  or  rereading 
and  preserving,  for  they  form  as  true  a  pen  picture  of  the  real 


30  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

conditions  of  early  Wyoming  life  as  is  to  be  found.  For  the 
privilege  of  their  use  in  this  edition,  The  State  Leader  extends 
to  Mr.  Voorhees  its  deepest  thanks. 

Organization  of  Overland  Stage  Company 
(By  Luke  Voorhees) 

The  Overland  Stage  Company  was  organized  in  1857  by 
Majors  Russell  and  Waddell  to  operate  a  line  of  tri-weekly 
mail,  express  and  passenger  stage  coaches,  from  St.  Joseph, 
Missouri,  via  Fort  Laramie  and  Fort  Bridger,  to  Salt  Lake  City, 
connecting  there  with  Well's  Fargo  Company,  who  took  the 
mail  on  through  to  San  Francisco.  The  great  loss  by  constant 
raids  of  Indians  along  the  line,  stealing  horses  and  mules,  kill- 
ing of  drivers  and  station  keepers  on  the  stage  line,  heavy  losses 
in  their  great  freighting  contracts  with  the  government  (the 
company  having  38,000  head  of  oxen  and  5,000  mules)  trans- 
porting supplies  for  the  various  forts  on  the  plains  and  the 
moving  of  supplies  for  the  army  distributed  over  the  frontier 
country,  altogether  put  the  great  firm  in  straightened  circum- 
stances financially.  They  had  borrowed  large  amounts  of 
money  of  Ben  Holliday  in  an  attempt  to  make  the  pony  express 
pay.  But  it  proved  a  failure  financially.  These,  with  other 
losses,  caused  the  firm  to  offer  to  turn  over  the  stage  line  to 
Ben  Holliday. 

Indians  United  in  Raid  On  Stage 

Majors  Russell  and  Waddell  had  become  famous  over  the 
western  plains  as  well  as  over  the  entire  Overland  trail.  The 
great  stream  of  immigrants  were  nearly  always  in  sight  of  some 
of  the  immense  trains  of  oxen  or  mules  belonging  to  this  firm. 
Ben  Holliday,  after  taking  possession  of  the  stage  and  express 
business,  reorganized  and  distributed  additional  men  and  horses 
(this  was  during  the  winter  of  1860-61),  with  grain  and  other 
supplies  along  the  line  from  St.  Joseph,  Missouri,  through 
Wyoming  via  Fort  Laramie  and  Fort  Bridger  to  Salt  Lake  City. 
In  March,  1862,  as  if  every  Indian  in  the  country  had  been 
especially  instructed  (the  Snoshones  and  Bannocks  in  the  west- 
ern mountains  and  the  Sioux  on  the  plains)  simultaneously 
pounced  upon  every  station  between  Bridgers  Ferry  and  Bear 
River  (about  where  Evanston,  Wyoming,  now  stands).  They 
captured  the  horses  and  mules  on  that  division  of  the  Overland 
route.  The  stages,  passengers  and  express  were  left  standing  at 
stations.  The  Indians  did  not  on  that  raid  kill  anyone  except 
at  Split  Rock  on  the  Sweetwater.  Holliday,  being  a  little  sty- 
lish, had  brought  out  from  Pennsylvania  a  colored  man  who  had 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          31 

been  raised  in  that  state  and  who  could  only  talk  Pennsylvania 
Dutch.  The  Indians,  when  they  reached  Split  Rock,  called  on 
black  face,  as  they  called  him,  to  make  heap  biscuit,  heap  coff 
(meaning'  coffee),  heap  shug.  Black  Face  said,  "Nix  come 
roush."  They  then  spoke  to  Black  Face  in  Mexican.  The 
colored  man  shook  his  head  and  said,  "Nixey. "  Whereupon 
they  tried  a  little  French  half-breed  talk.  Black  Face  said 
* '  Nix  fershta. ' '  In  the  meantime  the  colored  man  seemed  about 
to  collapse.  Things  looked  serious  for  him.  After  a  consulta- 
tion they  concluded  to  skin  him  alive  and  get  heap  rawhide. 
Then  they  said  heap  shoot.  So  they  killed  the  poor  fellow  and 
helped  themselves  to  the  grub  and  left. 

Tells  of  Passing  of  the  Buff alo 

In  the  year  of  1857,  I  made  a  trip  from  Lawrence,  Kansas, 
west  up  the  Kansas  River  to  the  confluence  of  the  Smoky  Hill 
and  Republican  Rivers,  thence  in  a  westerly  direction  towards 
the  Rocky  Mountains  about  150  miles  in  the  then  buffalo  coun- 
try for  a  buffalo  hunt.  Saw  a  great  many  and  killed  six  or 
eight  fat  ones,  all  and  more  than  we  needed  to  dry  or  jerk, 
as  the  old  plainsman  called  that  way  of  curing  the  meat.  The 
herds  I  saw  on  that  hunt  surprised  me  as  to  the  great  numbers 
(being  then  a  tenderfoot),  were  nothing  to  compare,  not  even 
worth  mentioning,  to  what  I  saw  two  years  later  during  the 
spring  and  summer  of  1859,  when  on  my  trip  up  the  Arkansas 
river  via  Bents  old  fort  to  Pikes  Peak  (or  bust)  to  where  Den- 
ver no\v  stands,  I  made  a  trip  across  the  country  from  the 
South  Platte  to  Pawnee  Buttes,  and  as  near  as  I  can  recollect 
near  where  the  town  of  Kimball,  Nebraska,  now  stands.  From 
the  South  Platte  as  far  north  as  I  then  traveled  there  was  one 
vast  herd.  To  estimate  or  comprehend  the  number  would  have 
been  entirely  futile.  I  had  traveled  over  200  miles,  buffalo 
being  on  all  sides  as  far  as  the  eye  could  see.  To  say  there 
was  millions  would  not  express  it.  As  near  as  I  can  now  recol- 
lect locations,  on  coming  over  from  Pawnee  Buttes  to  some 
pine-covered  bluffs  which  are  now  called  Pine  Bluffs,  was  a 
most  magnificent  sight.  It  was  the  thickest  of  the  great  herds, 
and  was  in  the  vicinity  of  where  the  dry  farmers  are  now 
raising  wheat  and  oats.  The  entire  country  east,  west  and 
north  from  the  bluffs  that  I  stood  upon  that  bright  day  in 
August,  1859,  was  one  brown-colored  group  of  buffalo  cows 
and  calves.  The  bulls  evidently  being  further  north.  The  very 
old  bulls  of  the  herds  of  buffalo  were  relegated  to  the  rear  by 
the  younger  and  more  vigorous  fighters,  such  as  the  three-  and 
four-year-olds,  which  were  in  the  advance.  It  was  quite  com- 
mon for  those  of  us  who  had  saddle  ponies  to  ride  out  among 


32  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

the  cows  and  calves  and  by  a  little  fast  riding  the  cows  would 
wildly  run  off,  leaving  the  calves  behind  or  in  the  rear  of  the 
cows,  we  would  then  ride,  circling  around  and  the  calves  would 
follow  a  horseman  into  camp,  where  we  would  pick  out  the 
choicest  and  have  fine  veal  roasting. 

The  present  theory  that  those  great  herds  of  buffalo  were 
mostly  slaughtered  for  their  hides  until  about  all  were  extinct, 
is  a  very  great  mistake.  Of  course  many  of  them  were  wan- 
tonly slaughtered  for  their  hides,  but  millions  of  them,  that 
mostly  wintered  in  the  Indian  Nation  country,  were  pushed 
north,  remaining  through  the  very  severe  winters  in  the  great 
northwest,  perishing  by  the  hundreds  of  thousands. 

First  White  Boy  Born  in  Cheyenne 

A  writer  once  said  no  book  of  western  reminiscences  would 
be  of  interest  if  some  part  or  chapter  did  not  date  back  to  a 
period  when  it  deserved  more  than  ordinary  gossip. 

For  instance,  when  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  in 
the  early  history  of  Cheyenne,  offered  a  city  lot  to  the  first  boy 
born  there,  Mr.  William  Wise,  one  bright  morning  in  December, 
1867,  stepped  around,  to  the  company 's  office  headquarters  and 
informed  them  of  the  recent  birth  and  immediate  christening 
of  George  Cheyenne  Wise.  The  exact  date  was  December  6, 
1867,  but  many  fine  Wyoming  boys  immediately  followed,  and 
the  first  little  pioneer  was  soon  forgotten  by  the  public. 

Coming  of  Railroad  was  Great  Event 

November  13,  1867,  the  Union  Pacific  track  reached  Chey- 
enne. The  event  caused  much  enthusiasm,  music  and  display 
of  flags  and  all  sorts  of  bunting ;  with  all  of  the  various  kinds  of 
gambling  games  displayed  in  the  open  on  the  sidewalks  and 
three-card  monte  down  on  the  ground  in  the  street  to  make 
it  appear  more  innocent  to  the  pilgrim  or  tenderfoot,  who 
could  almost  see  a  fortune  slipping  from  him  for  want  of  cour- 
age to  put  his  money  on  the  sure  winner  of  the  three-card 
game  or  the  roulette  wheel. 

The  celebration  was  one  of  the  events  such  as  was  never 
celebrated  before  in  the  Rocky  Mountains.  It  has  been  claimed 
by  various  religious  denominations  as  to  whom  belongs  the 
honor  of  the  first  sermon  preached  in  Cheyenne.  A  Rev.  Gil- 
bert, an  Episcopal  minister,  held  service  in  a  tent  some  time 
during  the  month  of  June,  1867.  This  seems  to  be  a  matter  of 
record  in  a  report  made  by  Mr.  Gilbert,  although  the  exact  date 
is  not  known  here  at  this  time.  It  is  sufficiently  a. fact  that  the 
first  sermon  was  preached  by  Mr.  Gilbert.  On  July  22,  1867, 
a  Methodist  minister  preached  a  sermon  in  a  partly  finished 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          33 

frame  building.  On  August  4,  1867,  a  Baptist  minister  preached 
a  discourse,  which  was  listened  to  by  a  large  crowd  of  bull- 
whackers,  mule-skinners,  cowboys  and  gamblers. 

First  Postoffice  in  Small  Shanty 

The  services  were  held  in  an  unfinished  building  belonging 
to  Judge  J.  R.  Whitehead.  During  the  month  of  September, 
1867,  Thomas  McLeland  was  appointed  postmaster  of  Chey- 
enne and  commenced  his  official  duties  in  a  10  by  12  board 
shanty.  He  handled  about  3,000  letters  daily  and  received  the 
gratifying  salary  of  $1  per  month. 

Leader  Was  First  in  Field 

The  first  paper,  the  Cheyenne  Leader,  was  issued  by  Mr. 
N.  A.  Baker,  on  the  19th  of  September,  1867.  In  the  first 
few  months  of  its  publication  it  told  of  the  arrival  of  the  first 
theatrical  company,  "The  Julesburg  Theatrical  Troupe." 

An  important  occurrence  was  the  advent  of  a  velocipede  on 
January  23,  1868,  which  the  cowboys  named  a  two-wheeled 
jackrabbit.  About  the  same  time  a  rather  impromptu  wedding 
occurred  and  it  was  announced  in  the  Leader  in  this  way : 

On  the  east  half  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  twenty- 
two  (22),  township  twenty-one  (21),  north  of  range  eleven  .(11) 
east,  in  an  open  sleigh  and  under  open  and  unclouded  canopy 
by  the  Rev.  J.  F.  Mason,  James  B.,  only  son  of  John  Cox  of 
Colorado,  and  Ellen  C.,  eldest  daughter  of  Major  G.  Harrington 
of  Nebraska. 

Work  on  Black  Hills  Stage  Line 

From  April  3,  1876,  I  was  constantly  moving  over  the  Black 
Hills  stage  line  from  Cheyenne  to  Deadwood,  back  and  forth,  in 
getting  stations  established  and  built,  and  in  trying  to  get  the 
right  kind  of  men  to  look  after  them. 

The  Indians  during  that  year  were  on  the  warpath,  commit- 
ting all  kinds  of  depredations,  killing  men  and  stealing  stock. 
I  returned  from  one  of  the  trips  to  Cheyenne,  April  18,  1876. 
I  came  over  the  road  from  Custer  City,  leaving  there  April  15. 
At  Red  Canon,  on  the  morning  of  the  16th,  I  came  upon  one  of 
the  most  horrible  sights  it  has  ever  been  my  misfortune  to  look 
upon.  The  Metz  family  and  a  few  other  immigrants  had 
camped  over  night  near  my  Red  Cancan  station,  or  about  three 
miles  south  of  the  station.  The  Indians  had  at  daylight  fell 
upon  the  campers  while  they  were  cooking  breakfast.  They 
succeeded  in  killing  all  but  three  of  the  outfit,  who  made  their 
escape  to  one  of  my  stations  on  the  Cheyenne  river. 


34  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

Horrible  Massacre  of  Metz  Family 

The  Metz  family  were  all  murdered.  A  colored  woman  who 
was  with  the  Metz  family  was  taken  prisoner.  When  I  came 
to  where  they  had  camped  it  was  with  horror  that  I  saw  the 
beastly,  mutiliating,  scalping  and  dismembering  of  the  dead 
bodies.  The  breasts  of  Mrs.  Metz  had  been  cleaved  from  the 
body,  her  arms  and  hands  were  lying  around  in  pieces.  I,  with 
some  of  my  men,  gathered  up  the  fragments  as  best  we  could 
and  by  knocking  a  wagon  box  to  pieces,  did  the  best  we  could 
under  the  circumstances  and  excitement  to  bury  them,  as  we 
were  looking  for  the  Indians  to  pick  us  up  any  moment.  I  will 
mention  the  man  Stimson,  who  I  had  known  very  well,  and 
who  I  recognized  by  a  mark  on  one  of  his  ears.  The  Indians 
had  evidently  carved  him  beyond  any  that  I  ever  saw.  Every 
toe,  finger,  nose  and  ears  were  cut  off,  and  he  was  scalped  much 
more  than  the  usual  scalp  lock.  They  had  pealed  his  entire 
head.  From  what  T  learned  afterAvards,  Stimson  had  wounded 
two  of  the  Indians  in  the  fight,  the  wounded  Indians  had  the 
pleasure  of  carving  without  the  aid  of  the  other  Indians. 

The  Metz  family  were  formerly  from  Laramie  City,  "Wyo- 
ming, and  had  been  to  Custer  City,  but  becoming  home  sick, 
were  returning  when  they  were  killed.  The  Indians  taking  all 
of  their  stock  and  everything  that  was  of  any  use  to  an  Indian. 
There  were  three  men  wounded  who  made  their  escape  to  one 
of  my  stage  stations.  They  could  not  be  carried  on  the  stages 
with  rapid  driving.  I  sent  or  asked  to  have  a  surgeon  sent  to 
them  from  Port  Laramie.  On  April  19th,  three  days  after  the 
Metz  family  was  murdered  one  of  my  partners,  Henry  E. 
Brown,  was  killed,  about  18  miles  north  of  Hat  Creek  station. 

Indian  Raids  Halt  Stage  Operations 

The  Indians  who  had  killed  the  colored  man,  Black  Face,  at 
Split  Rock  stage  station  on  the  Sweetwater,  left,  going  west- 
erly, at  Devil's  Gate  station,  met  Lem  Flowers,  Jim  Reed  and 
Bill  Brown,  three  of  the  stage  company's  men,  who  put  up  a 
good  fight,  but  were  severely  wounded.  They  gave  up  their 
horses  as  the  Indians  were  in  such  numbers  that  they  wrere 
glad  to  be  left  alive.  The  attacks  on  the  stage  line  in  the  dis- 
trict, which  is  now  Wyoming,  caused  the  stoppage  of  all  stages 
on  the  entire  line.  The  war  department  could  do  nothing  but 
push  some  volunteer  troops  as  rapidly  as  possible,  as  all  the 
regulars  had  been  called  to  the  southern  states  to  help  take  care 
of  the  rebellion.  The  Fourth  Iowa  cavalry  made  forced 
marches  and  arrived  on  the  scene  of  the  depredations  in  May, 
1862.  They  were  followed  by  the  Eleventh  Ohio  cavalry  and 
the  Eighth  Kansas  infantry.  These  troops  were  distributed 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          35 

over  a  wide  scope  of  country  to  guard  the  immigrants ;  escort 
the  coaches  and  repair  the  telegraph  lines  when  destroyed  by 
the  Indians.  The  Iowa  boys  did  noble  work  against  the  Ban- 
nocks, Shoshones  and  Sioux.  The  presence  of  the  Iowa  troops 
was  a  guarantee  that  fighting  was  to  be  done.  Many  times 
they  found  teams  of  the  immigrants  overloaded,  the  oxen  given 
out,  lame  mules,  horses,  etc.  I  have  often  seen  cattle,  horses 
and  mules  scattered  along  the  overland  trail,  having  been  aban- 
doned and  left  to  be  gathered  by  any  one  who  wanted  them, 
or  by  the  Indians.  Also  along  the  road  was  household  furni- 
ture, farm  and  other  implements  of  almost  every  imaginable 
kind  which  had  been  dumped  out  to  lighten  loads.  Many  times 
immigrants  becoming  alarmed  by  the  great  danger  encountered 
from  Indians  (sometimes  without  real  danger)  would  divest 
themselves  of  everything  so  they  could  travel  more  rapidly. 
The  great  rush  of  gold  seekers  to  Denver  and  Colorado  to 
bring  all  of  the  influence  possible  on  the  postoffice  department 
to  permit  Ben  Holliday  to  change  the  overland  mail  and  stage 
line  from  the  North  Platte  to  the  South  Platte  river  via  Jules- 
burg,  Denver,  Dale  Creek,  Laramie  plains  due  west  over 
Bridgers  pass,  Bitter  Creek,  Green  River  to  Fort  Bridger, 
where  the  routes  joined.  The  change  was  decided  on  in  July, 
1862. 

Overland  Route  Is  Changed 

The  rolling  stock,  horses  and  other  property  was  gathered 
at  the  station  just  above  Devil's  Gate  on  the  Sweet  water.  Major 
O'Farrell,  in  command  of  A  company  of  the  Eleventh  Ohio 
cavalry,  was  to  be  the  escort  at  the  time  of  the  transfer.  The 
first  day  the  long  train  of  wagons,  coaches,  horses  and  mules 
made  eleven  miles  from  the  station  where  the  property  had 
been  gathered.  The  direction  was  south  from  Sweetwater. 
The  camp  made  the  first  night  was  in  a  gap  in  the  mountains 
(since  that  time  called  Whiskey  gap),  there  being  a  fine  spring 
of  water  and  plenty  of  good  wood  for  cooking  purposes.  Short- 
ly after  going  into  camp  the  major  noticed  quite  a  number  of 
his  soldiers  were  hilariously  drunk.  He  at  once  sent  for  one 
of  his  lieutenants  (who  was  officer  of  the  day)  and  informed 
him  of  the  condition  of  the  men.  The  major  was  certain  from 
his  past  experience  that  some  one  was  selling  whiskey  in  the 
camp.  There  were  a  number  of  immigrants  who  had  availed 
themselves  of  the  protection  of  the  command  for  safe  conduct 
to  the  new  overland  trail.  Lieutenant  Brown,  who  was  the 
officer  of  the  day,  received  orders  to  search  all  of  the  immi- 
grants' wagons  and  if  he  discovered  whiskey,  to  at  once  destroy 
it.  Taking  a  squad  of  his  company  with  him  he  commenced 
the  search  for  the  contraband  whiskey. 


36  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

Bootlegging  Flourished  in  Early  Days. 

After  examining  every  wagon  in  the  camp  but  one,  which 
they  thought  was  too  innocent  looking  to  have  whiskey  aboard; 
when  they  came  to  this  they  found  a  barrel  of  "forty-rod" 
whiskey.  The  officer  at  once  ordered  his  men  to  roll  the  barrel 
out,  knock  in  the  head  and  empty  the  contents  on  the  ground. 
This  was  done  at  once,  but  it  happened  that  the  spot  where 
the  whiskey  was  emptied  was  just  above  a  spring  and  the 
firey  liquid  went  pouring  down  into  the  water  supply  of  the 
camp.  The  soldiers  at  once  saw  that  the  precious  stuff  was 
going  to  waste,  and  they  rushed  forward  with  cups,  canteen 
pails,  camp  kettles  to  save  what  they  could  of  the  whiskey. 
Those  who  were  without  even  a  tin  cup  to  hold  the  liquor  while 
it  was  running  down  the  hillside,  stamped  holes  with  their  boot 
heels  in  the  ground  and  caught  the  whiskey  in  the  holes  and 
lying  down,  drank  it.  A  half-hour  later  the  "forty-rod"  whis- 
key showed  its  effect  pretty  generally  through  the  camp;  in 
fact  but  few  sober  men  were  in  the  camp.  One  soldier  who  was 
more  lucky  than  some  others  and  had  succeeded  in  getting  a 
full  canteen  from  the  spring,  grew  good  and  mellow.  While 
in  this  drunken  condition,  he  paid  his  respects  to  Major  O'Far- 
rell  at  the  headquarters,  assuring  the  major  with  many  a  "hie" 
that  that  was  the  finest  spring  he  had  ever  seen  and  the  best 
water  he  had  ever  tasted. 

The  major  was  very  fearful  of  an  attack  from  the  Indians 
that  night.  The  condition  of  his  men  was  most  discouraging 
as  he  was  helpless  from  the  drunken  condition  in  his  camp.  He 
knew  a  small  band  of  Indians  could  make  a  disastrous  raid 
on  his  camp.  Those  of  the  major's  men  who  were  less  intoxi- 
cated were  kept  on  the  alert  that  night.  As  luck  would  have  it, 
no  Indians  put  in  an  appearance  and  by  morning  the  whiskey 
had  either  soaked  in  the  mud  or  been  slept  off  by  the  soldiers. 

The  gap  in  the  mountains  at  that  place  had  never  been 
named  by  any  of  the  old  trappers,  but  from  that  event  it  has 
been  known  as  "Whiskey  Gap."  From  that  place  to  the  south 
stage  road  known  as  Laramie  Plains  overland  road,  the  major 
had  no  more  trouble  in  delivering  the  stage  company's  equip- 
ment on  the  Bitter  Creek  route. 

Arids  Favored  Moving  of  Stage  Equipment 

The  affair  at  Whiskey  gap,  when  the  soldiers  got  drunk  on 
spring  water,  mentioned  in  my  last  letter,  endangered  the 
entire  project.  Major  O'Farrel  apprehended  an  attack  from 
the  Shoshone  Indians.  And  had  the  Indians  known  the  con- 
dition of  the  soldiers,  they  would  have  slaughtered  or  captured 
the  whole  outfit. 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          37 

The  major  knew  that  with  a  lot  of  drunken  soldiers  he 
would  be  helpless  and  would  be  unable  to  resist  an  attack. 

But  fortunately  no  Indians  appeared  that  night  and  by 
morning  the  drunken  debauch  of  the  soldiers  had  worn  off.  So 
that  a  fearful  massacre  was  narrowly  averted. 

"When  they  had  escorted  the  stage  stock  to  the  new  Bitter 
Greek  overland  trail  it  was  then  distributed  along  and  at  the 
new  stage  stations. 

The  changing  of  the  stock  and  equipment  was  done  in  such 
a  short  time  that  there  was  no  trip  missed  nor  a  single  mail 
delayed.  As  I  have  said  heretofore,  the  new  line  followed  the 
South  Platte  by  way  of  Denver,  Fort  Collins,  Dale  Creek,  Lara- 
mie  Plains,  Bridgers  Pass,  Barrel  Springs,  Salt  "Wells,  down 
Bitter  Creek  to  Green  River,  then  on  to  Salt  Lake  City.  The 
stations  were  established  about  ten  miles  apart.  Home  stations 
where  the  drivers  lived  and  changed,  were  about  60  miles  apart. 
Each  of  these  home  stations  had  stables  for  about  60  horses. 

Ticket  Over  Route  Cost  Only  $300 

In  those  days,  the  magnificent  equipment  furnished  by  Ben 
Holiday  was  considered  more  wonderfully  luxurious  than  is 
now  a  modern  railway.  The  cost  of  a  ticket  via  Denver  to  Salt 
Lake  City  was  $300. 

The  coaches  were  all  made  by  the  then  famous  (Concord 
Coach  Manufacturing  Company  of  Concord,  N.  H.  All  the 
harness  was  made  by  the  Hill  Harness  Company  of  the  same 
place.  The  passenger  eating  stations  were  at  the  home  stations, 
60  miles  apart.  At  the  intermediate  stations  ten  miles  apart, 
only  the  horses  were  changed,  which  were  left  in  charge  of  two 
men.  Every  horse  had  its  own  harness,  was  well  fed,  well 
groomed  and  the  changes  were  made  with  the  very  least  possi- 
ble delay  to  the  coach.  The  horses  were  mostly  from  Kentucky. 
Evry  horse  in  each  team  was  of  the  same  color,  and  it  was 
the  pride  and  boast  of  Ben  Holliday  that  there  never  was  (and 
in  fact  there  never  has  been  since)  such  an  elegant,  high-class 
outfit  in  any  horse  transportation  company  in  the  world. 

Holliday  Takes  Golden  Treasure  With  Him 
In  June,  1863,  Ben  Holliday  concluded  to  make  a  personal 
trip  over  the  line  with  Mrs.  Holliday  from  Sacramento,  Cal., 
to  Atchison,  Kan.  He  telegraphed  his  intention  to  do  so,  with 
strict  orders  that  no  one  but  the  division  superintendents 
should  know  of  his  trip  at  that  time,  but  to  have  extra  horses 
at  the  relay  stations,  so  as  to  make  record  time. 

He  desired  the  utmost  secrecy  for  the  reason  that  he  was 
taking  $40,000  in  gold  with  him  to  New  York  (gold  at  that 


38  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

time  being  worth  $2.40  in  greenbacks).  He  had  a  false  bottom 
securely  built  in  the  coach  where  he  packed  the  gold,  so  that 
should  he  be  held  up,  no  road  agent  would  suspect  the  money 
being  in  other  place  than  the  treasure  box,  which  was  always 
carried  in  the  front  boot  of  the  stage.  The  United  States  mail 
was  carried  in  the  hind  boot. 

Robbers  Very  Kindly  Scratched  Ben's  Nose 

At  that  date  it  was  a  rare  thing  to  have  any  of  the  Overland 
stages  held  up  by  any  one  but  the  Indians.  However,  on  this 
special  trip  of  Ben  Holliday,  it  really  happened,  for  between 
Green  River  stage  station  and  Salt  Wells  on  Bitter  Creek, 
"Wyoming,  three  men  suddenly  sprang  from  a  ravine,  each 
armed  with  a  double  barrellel  shotgun  and  two  Dragoon  revol- 
vers, calling  to  the  drivers  to  halt,  which  order  was  quickly 
obeyed.  The  road  agents  ordered  all  passengers'  hands  up 
high.  On  seeing  a  lady  passenger  in  the  coach,  they  said  she 
need  not  get  out  as  they  (the  robbers)  were  gentlemen  of  the 
first  water  and  never  molested  a  lady.  But  they  warned  Mr. 
Holliday  to  keep  his  hands  above  his  head.  During  the  search 
through  the  treasure  box  and  mail,  Ben  Holliday 's  heavy, 
bristly  moustache  began  tickling  his  nose.  It  became  so  acute 
and  unbearable  that  he  finally  made  a  move  to  scratch  it. 
Instantly  the  road  agent  ordered  his  hands  up  high.  "My 
God,"  said  Ben,  "I  must  scratch  my  nose,  I  can't  stand  it." 
"You  keep  your  hands  up  where  I  told  you,"  said  the  agent. 
"I  will  attend  to  the  nose  business."  So  he  proceeded  to  rub 
Ben's  nose  with  the  muzzle  of  the  shotgun.  Thus  relieved,  he 
held  up  his  hands  until  the  search  was  finished. 

However,  -the  false  bottom  in  the  ceach  was  a  success,  for 
it  saved  the  gold  which  Mr.  Holliday  carried  safely  through 
to  New  York,  where  he  changed  it  into  greenbacks,  clearing 
the  handsome  sum  of  $56,000. 

Early  Experiences  in  Salt  Lake  City 

During  the  winter  of  1866,  I  made  the  trip  by  stage  from 
northern  Montana  (Helena)  to  Salt  Lake  City,  or  Zion,  as  the 
Mormons,  or  Latter  Day  Saints,  called  Utah  territory  at  that 
time.  I  had  been  gold  placer  mining  in  the  northwest  for 
three  years  and  had  about  200  pounds  of  gold  dust  which  I  was 
anxious  to  get  run  into  ingots  or  bars  and  sell  for  currency. 
Gold  at  that  time  was  worth  $2.40  in  greenbacks.  After  finding 
an  assay  office  and  arranging  the  gold  dust  business,  I  located 
at  the  Salt  Lake  House  (then  kept  by  the  Mormons  and  said  to 
be  the  best  hotel  between  Chicago  and  San  Francisco  at  that 
tinie),  at  $45  per  week  in  advance.  After  looking  over  the 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          39 

tabernacle,  the  Lion  house  (Brigham  Young's  residence),  with 
his  numerous  wives  and  fifty  children,  more  or  less,  I  visited  the 
Elephant  corral,  where  all  the  overland  stage  drivers,  freight- 
ers, miners,  Spaniards,  Mexicans,  half-breeds,  with  a  sprin- 
kling of  about  all  nationalities  who  would  congregate  at  the 
corral,  as  the  boys  would  say,  to  swap  lies. 

An  incident  I  remember  very  well — one  day  a  man  from 
the  desert  came  in  riding  one  cayuse  and  leading  another, 
on  which  he  had  all  of  his  worldly  belongings.  He  and  the  cay- 
use  looked  alkalied.  His  name  was  Bill  Burmeister,  and  he  was 
known  all  over  the  west  as  Yeast  Powder  Bill.  He  said  he  was 
both  hungry  and  thirsty  (and  he  looked  it)  and  had  traveled 
for  two  days  without  water  to  drink  and  his  grub,  consisting 
of  a  few  pounds  of  self -rising  flour,  his  cooking  utensils,  a 
tin  can  and  a  frying  pan. 

Yeast  Powder  Bill  Gets  a  Meal 

He  borrowed  on  one  of  the  ponies  of  the  Walker  brothers, 
who  owned  the  corral,  $14,  so  he  would,  as  he  remarked,  have 
capital  to  feed,  drink  and  get  barbered,  see  Zion  and  take  a 
look  at  the  Saints,  or  more  particularly  the  Saintesses,  as  he 
called  them.  Of  course,  he  was  very  anxious  to  meet  the  twelve 
apostles,  as  soon  as  he  could  meet  St.  Peter  to  introduce  him. 
He  said  he  and  Sam  Clemens  had  been  prospecting  out  in 
Nevada  for  big  silver  mines.  Clemens,  he  said,  claimed  to  be 
a  great  pilot  (sagebrush  pilot).  Bill  said  he  and  Sam  got  lost 
on  their  prospecting  trip  and  Sam  was  not  the  pilot  he  had 
been  bragging  about,  so  he  quit  Twain  and  came  to  Zion.  He 
invaded  the  barber  shop  and  by  paying  $2  got  a  hair  cut  and  a 
shave.  Upon  inquiring  for  a  place  where  spirits  were  sold,  he 
was  directed  across  the  street  to  a  building  with  a  sign  over 
the  entrance,  which  read:  "Zion's  Co-operative  Mercantile 
Institution.  Holiness  to  the  Lord."  Yeast  Powder,  upon 
entering,  found  what  he  thought  he  was  most  in  need  of— 
whiskey.  The  holiness  to  the  Lord  fellows  had  learned  to 
make  or  brew  a  native  drink  out  of  wheat  and  potatoes,  called 
valley  tan.  I  never  tried  it,  but  those  who  did  said  it  was  the 
stuff.  It  would  make  a  man  fight  a  Sierra  grizzly  bear  or  his 
grandmother.  Bill  bought  one  drink  fpr  50  cents  and  it  created 
such  an  increase  in  his  estimate  of  the  mines  that  he  and 
Clemens  didn't  discover,  that  he  bought  another.  The  world 
looked  brighter  after  taking  the  second  drink  and  he  wanted 
a  square  meal.  He  was  directed  to  the  Salt  Lake  House.  Bill 
laid  off  his  belt  and  two  navy  revolvers  so  he  could  eat  com- 
fortably. The  landlord  said  the  dinner  was  $3,  pay  in  advance. 


40  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

Yeast  Powder  said  it  seemed  steep,  but  he  always  tried  to 
play  the  game  to  the  limit,  so  he  paid  the  $3  and  entered  the 
dining  room.  The  menu  was  not  a  printed  one,  but  verbal. 
Little  Mollie,  the  waitress,  or  head  waitress,  was  a  very  good 
looking  little  English  (Mormon)  girl.  Bill  told  her  to  call 
the  roll  for  $3  worth  of  grub,  as  he  wanted  to  chaw  worse  than 
a  Caifornia  grizzly  wanted  to  chaw  a  Digger  Indian.  Mollie 
called  over  the  grub  as  she  thought  of  it.  She  said :  ' '  Carrots, 
biled  beef,  cabbage,  taters,  turnips,  tea,  hog  meat  and  beans 
(Brigham  Young  cautioned  his  people  to  say  hog  meat,  not 
pork),  dried  apple  pie,  stewed  calves'  liver  and  curlew." 

'  *  Curlew  !    What  in  the  h 1  is  curlew  ? ' '    Mollie  said  it  was 

a  bird  that  could  fly  away  up  and  whistle.    Well,  Bill  said  any 

d d  thing  that  could  fly  and  whistle  and  would  stay  in 

this  country,  he  did  not  want  to  tackle,  so  he  took  tea,  hog  meat 
and  beans,  taters,  calves'  liver  and  dried  apple  pie. 


Officers  Were  Men  of  Highest  Type 

Before  closing  events  that  occurred,  as  my  recollection 
serves  me,  in  the  early  days  of  the  overland  stage  companies, 
I  wish  to  state  that  all  the  officers  connected  with  the  operating 
department,  and  there  were  many  of  them,  were  men  of  the 
highest  type  of  gentlemen,  with  one  exception — J.  A.  Slade — 
and  he,  when  not  drinking,  was  an  excellent  superintendent  to 
look  after  a  line  that  had  to  be  conducted  through  an  Indian 
country  with  the  various  tribes  who  were  on  the  war  path 
most  of  the  time  from  1862  to  1868.  I  speak  of  Slade,  as  much 
has  been  said  about  him  that  was  not  true,  such  as  his  being 
connected  with  thieves  and  murderers,  pillaging  immigrants, 
stealing  horses  and  mules  and  other  crimes  that  he  was  not 
guilty  of.  He  was  guilty  of  one  or  two  crimes  which  I  will 
mention,  that  was  enough  to  be  charged  up  to  him,  which  made 
him  one  of  the  most  notorious  of  men  on  the  overland  trail. 
Prior  to  the  moving  of  the  stock  and  equipment  from  the 
North  Platte-Sweetwater  line  to  the  South  Platte  Eiver,  Den- 
ver, Laramie  Plains,  Bridger  Pass  and  Bitter  Creek  route, 
Slade  had  made  his  headquarters  at  Fort  Laramie  (at  that  time 
a  large  government  post)  from  1859  to  1862,  and  on  the  south- 
ern route  at  Virginia  Dale  after  moving  from  Fort  Laramie. 
It  was  rumored  that  he  killed  a  man  named  Andy  Farrar,  a 
man  connected  with  a  bull  train,  both  men  being  drunk  or 
drinking.  Farrar  dared  Slade  to  shoot  him,  which  Slade 
promptly  did,  wounding  Farrar  dangerously.  Horrified  at 
what  he  had  done,  he  expressed  great  sorrow  (this  occurring 
at  Green  River),  and  he  hired  the  best  horse  that  could  be 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          41 

got  and  sent  a  man  with  all  haste  to  Fort  Bridger  for  a  sur- 
geon. The  doctor  came  promptly,  but  Farrar  died.  This  was 
Slade 's,first  shooting  incident.  As  superintendent  of  the  stage 
company,  Slade  had  many  adventures.  He  conducted  business 
that  pleased,  or  at  least,  was  satisfactory  to  the  stage  company, 
being  always  prompt  and  vigilant  night  and  day.  All  agreed 
he  was  a  good  man  when  not  drinking,  but  dangerous  when 
in  liquor. 

Blade's  Fight  With  Jules  Rani 

The  most  noted  of  his  fights  was  with  Jules  Rani,  a  Canadian 
Frenchman,  who  owned  and  conducted  a  ranch,  sold  bad  whis- 
key, etc.,  where  Julesburg  now  is  located.  Slade  and  Eani 
often  met  and  about  as  often  quarreled.  Slade  drank  himself, 
but  he  was  down  on  any  one  of  his  employes  that  did,  or 
any  one  who  sold  whiskey  to  his  employes.  Slade  and  Jules, 
is  one  of  their  disputes,  Jules  getting  the  drop  on  Slade,  fired 
with  a  double  barrel  shotgun,  putting  fifteen  buck  shot  in 
Slade 's  body.  Jules  cooly  said  to  some  one  who  witnessed 
the  shooting,  "When  he  is  dead,  put  him  in  one  of  these  old  dry 
goods  boxes  and  bury  him."  Slade  was  apparently  mortally 
wounded,  but  was  live  enough  to  hear  Jules  make  the  remark. 
Slade  said,  with  an  oath,  that  he  would  live  long  enough  to  wear 
one  of  Jules'  ears  on  his  watch  chain.  The  overland  stage 
came  up  before  Slade  was  moved  and  the  superintendent 
ordered  the  men  to  arrest  Jules,  which  they  did,  and  proceeded 
to  hang  him.  After  they  pulled  him  up  until  he  was  black 
in  the  face,  they  let  him  down,  and,  on  his  promise  to  leave 
the  country  and  never  return,  they  let  him  go.  Jules  did  not 
do  as  he  agreed  to.  Slade  was  sent  to  St.  Louis  to  have  the 
buck  shot  removed.  He  had  seven  taken  out,  the  balance  he 
carried  in  his  person  to  remind  him  of  eternal  vengeance; 
and,  on  his  return  on  the  stage  line,  sent  word  to  Jules  that  he 
would  kill  him  on  sight.  Rani,  on  receipt  of  Slade 's  message, 
made  it  his  business  to  put  himself  in  Slade 's  way  with  the 
purpose  of  doing  Slade  up.  Slade  sent  four  men  to  Bordeaux's 
ranch  on  the  Platte  River,  where  he  heard  Jules  was  stopping, 
but,  not  finding  him  there,  they  then  went  to  Chausau  's  ranch, 
where  they  found  their  man.  They  captured  him,  bound  his 
hands  and  feet  and  placed  him  in  a  corral.  Slade,  on  his 
arrival,  went  to  the  corral,  and  with  his  dragoon  revolver, 
shot  Jules  in  the  mouth  but  did  not  kill  him.  A  second  shot 
went  through  his  brain,  instantly  killing  Jules.  Slade  went 
then  to  Fort  Laramie  and  offered  to  give  himself  up,  but  the 
commanders  of  the  fort  discharged  him,  as  they  thought  he 
was  justified  in  killing  Jules.  There  were  many  stories  reported 


42  Personal  Recollections  of  Pianeer  Life 

about  the  way  Slade  did  the  killing.  I  was  not  present,  but 
talked  at  different  times  with  several  of  the  stage  drivers.  One 
said  Slade  had  Jules  placed  in  a  standing  position  and  then 
Slade  fired  repeated  shots  at  Jules ;  between  each  shot  he  would 
ask  all  hands  to  go  into  the  ranch  and  take  a  drink.  Then  he 
would  tell  Jules  he  was  going  to  shoot  him  in  the  breast  or  in 
the  side  of  the  head,  etc. ;  finally  he  was  shot  through  the 
head.  Slade  then  cut  off  Jules'  ears,  and  put  them  in  his 
pocket,  where  he  carried  them  for  a  long  time,  and  when  on 
one  of  his  drunks,  he  would  show  the  ears  and  ask  the  by- 
standers if  they  needed  any  souse. 

A  Three-Card  Sharp 

During  the  building  of  the  Union  Pacific  railroad,  more 
especially  the  summer  of  1867,  Canada  Bill  worked  up  and 
down  the  little  towns  which  sprang  up  as  the  road  progressed. 
He  would  appear  with  his  three  dirty  cards,  which  he  would 
show  the  onlookers  and  tell  them  how  to  guess  the  proper 
card  so  as  to  win  20  or  50  dollars,  just  an  easy  matter,  as  Canada 
would  explain,  but  the  card  bet  on  by  the  suckers  always  lost. 

Bill  said  he  would  pay  the  management  of  the  railroad 
$5,000  a  year  for  permission  to  exert  himself  with  three  cards 
and  would  guarantee  not  to  molest  or  work  anyone  except  min- 
isters and  Mormons. 

Prospecting  for  Gold 

I  have  been  asked  many  times  in  the  last  forty  years  what 
I  thought  as  to  the  truth  of  the  old  stories  of  placer  gold  dig- 
gings in  the  Big  Horn  and  Wind  River  mountains  in  Wyoming. 
From  the  time  of  my  first  trip  on  the  plains  in  1857,  being  one 
year  before  gold  was  discovered  on  Cherry  Creek,  Colorado, 
1858,  by  Green  Russel  and  his  company  of  prospectors,  which 
caused  the  great  stampede  in  1859  to  Pikes  Peak,  all  of  the 
talk  I  had  with  mountaineers  (and  some  of  them  were  monu- 
mental liars)  was  that  there  existed  on  the  head  waters  of 
the  Wind  River  and  Big  Horn  mountains  great  placer  deposits 
of  gold.  Indians  and  old  trappers  who  had  traversed  the  entire 
Rocky  Mountains  country  would  declare  that  they  knew  of 
heaps  of  gold  (as  they  would  say  in  their  bragging  way).  It 
had  been  talked  about  by  California  miners,  Idaho  prospectors 
and  Pikes  Peakers,  that  as  soon  as  it  was  safe  to  go  into  this 
country  and  do  prospecting  they  were  for  that  country. 

Three  different  parties  in  each  of  which  I  had  friends, 
made  the  attempt  to  get  into  the  Big  Horn  and  Wind  -River 
country  in  the  spring  of  1863.  About  the  10th  of  May,  Bill 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          43 

Fairweather,  Tom  Daily  and  twelve  others  left  the  Boise  Basin 
for  the  Big  Horn.  They  reached  the  head  waters  of  the  Gallatin 
River,  crossed  over  the  divide  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Big 
Horn.  The  first  night  camping  and  campfires  attracted  a  band 
of  Blackfeet  Indians.  A  fight  ensued.  One  of  the  company 
being  slightly  wounded.  They  believed  from  signs  and  smokes 
over  the  valley  below  that  the  safest  thing  to  do  was  to  return 
west.  They  crossed  over  the  main  range  to  the  headwaters  of 
the  Jefferson  River,  where  camping  one  day  at  noon  to  make 
some  coffee  and  slapjacks,  while  preparing  for  their  dinner, 
Fairweather  said  he  would  do  a  little  prospecting.  He  dug  up  a 
pan  of  dirt  from  the  grass  roots,  went  to  the  creek,  washed 
it  out  and  had  three  pennyweight  of  nice  gold  worth  $3.  They 
named  the  gulch  or  creek  Alder  Gulch.  Millions  of  dollars' 
worth  of  gold  has  been  taken  out  of  that  stream.  In  June  of 
the  same  year  (1863)  another  party,  Sam  T.  Houser,  Grantville 
Stuart,  George  Ives,  John  Vanderbilt  and  several  others  left 
East  Bannock,  Idaho,  to  prospect  in  the  Wind  River  moun- 
tains. They  were  supplied  with  good  saddle  and  pack  animals, 
the  best  rifles  and  revolvers  with  plenty  of  cartridges.  On 
getting  over  on  the  headwaters  of  Wind  River  they  encoun- 
tered a  band  of  Sioux  Indian  warriors.  From  that  time  until 
arriving  at  Soda  Springs  where  I  met  them  they  had  one 
continuous  fight  with  the  Indians.  Two  of  the  party  being 
killed.  When  they  came  into  my  camp  I  thought  they  were 
the  most  tired  and  wretched  Indian  fighters  I  had  ever  met. 
They  had  been  unable  to  get  either  sleep  or  rest.  We  fixed 
them  up  with  a  good  camp  dinner  and  they  felt  better. 

Indians  Barred  Early  Prospector 

They  were  firm  in  the  belief  from  traditions  told  them  that 
great  quantities  of  placer  gold  existed  in  the  Wind  River 
mountains  and  streams.  From  that  time  until  1867  the  Indians 
did  not  allow  a  white  man  to  show  his  scalp  in  the  Big  Horn 
or  Wind  River  range.  Jeff  Stanifer,  his  brother  Jim,  and 
three  others,  all  good  mountaineers,  were  determined  to  do 
some  prospecting  in  the  Sioux  country.  But  after  three  weeks 
continuously  being  harassed  by  the  Snake,  Sioux  and  Chey- 
enne Indians  they  gave  up  and  came  ^nto  where  Green  River 
station  is  now  located.  They  were  a  sorry  looking  outfit. 

The  great  excitement  over  Nevada  and  Colorado  about  great 
silver  mines  and  the  danger  of  meeting  the  Sioux  warriors  in 
the  Big  Horn,  stopped  all  prospecting  in  that  part  of  Wyo- 
ming. Of  late  years  nearly  all  of  the  old  prospectors  and  those 
who  have  gone  over  the  divide  in  early  years  believed  that 


44  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

great  placer  gold  mines  would  be  found  in  the  western  moun- 
tain ranges  of  our  state.  I  myself  have  firm  faith  that  there 
will  yet  be  great  diggings  discovered  in  Wyoming.  If  I  was 
a  younger  man  with  the  experience  I  have  had,  I  would 
organize  a  party  and  put  in  a  season  of  prospecting,  as  I  am 
so  confident  that  Wyoming  contains  millions  of  the  precious 
metals  vet  undiscovered. 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West         45 


Miscellaneous  Selections 


The  Death  of  Meriweather  Lewis 

(From  Everybody's  Magazine) 

A  century  ago  there  was  no  more  promising  youth  in 
America  than  Meriweather  Lewis.  After  a  brilliant  career  as 
a  soldier,  he  had  been  appointed  private  secretary  to  Presi- 
dent Jefferson,  and  had  shown  himself  so  trustworthy,  so  ener- 
getic, so  resourceful,  that  when  Jefferson  determined  to  make 
an  exploration  of  the  great  territory  he  was  just  purchasing, 
he  selected  Lewis  as  the  one  to  accomplish  it,  knowing  how 
thoroughly  he  could  rely  on  his  accuracy  and  his  truthful- 
ness. 

Six  years  later,  in  1809,  his  brilliant  feat  accomplished — 
he  was  even  then  but  35  years  old — Lewis  left  his  beloved 
west  for  the  last  time  and  set  out  for  Washington  to  confer 
with  the  president.  He  crossed  the  Mississippi  at  the  Chicka- 
saw  Bluffs,  where  Memphis  now  stands,  and  taking  Indian 
trails  southeasterly,  struck  the  Trace  at  the  crossing  of  the 
Tennessee  River,  in  Lauderdale  County,  Alabama.  Turning 
toward  Nashville,  he  came  alone,  on  the  night  of  October 
llth,  to  the  "stand"  or  tavern  of  Robert  Grinder  above  the 
crossing  of  Little  Swan,  72  miles  from  Nashville.  Accommoda- 
tions were  rude,  and  Lewis  wrapped  himself  in  his  buffalo 
robe  and  slept  on  the  ffoor.  A  heavy  storm  was  raging.  In 
the  night  the  women  in  an  adjoining  building  heard  a  shot. 
In  the  morning  Lewis  was  found  dying,  a  pistol  beside  him. 

Grinder  circulated  the  report  that  Lewis  had  shot  himself, 
and  the  explorer  was  buried  beside  the  road  close  to  the 
tavern.  At  Washington  then,  and  by  many  historians  since, 
Grinder's  story  has  been  believed;  but  by  the  settlers  of  that 
vicinity  and  by  the  women  who  lived  at  Grinder's,  only  one 
opinion  was  ever  entertained — that  Grinder  had  murdered  him 
for  his  money.  Grinder,  at  any  rate,  w#s  known  to  have  money 
in  his  possession  after  Lewis's  death.  He  sold  out  his  place 
and  moved  away.  But  the  fame  of  Lewis  has  been  blotted  to 
this  day  by  the  story  that  he  took  his  own  life  in  a  fit  of 
melancholia.  For  forty  years  his  grave  remained  unmarked. 
Then  the  Tennessee  legislature  appropriated  $500  for  a  monu- 
ment; the  bones  were  dug  up  and  identified;  an  irregular 


46  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

county,  having  the  grave  as  its  approximate  center,  was  named 
Lewis,  and  a  few  acres  about  the  monument  set  aside  for  a 
park.  Since  then  nothing  has  been  done  to  care  for  it,  but 
the  broken  column  stands  as  it  was  placed,  beside  the  for- 
saken road. 

So  on  that  breathless  afternoon  my  pilgrimage  had  its  end. 
I  had  come  to  find  this  traditional  shaft  to  a  traditional  man, 
whose  traditional  murder  marked  the  center  of  a  county.  But 
I  found  his  monument  was  greater  than  that,  for  it  was  the  old 
road  itself  over  which  he  had  traveled,  and  the  hilltop  on  which 
he  died,  and  the  forest  which  still  covers  it.  Into  them  all  his 
soul  has  entered. 

I  think  he  would  not  have  ordered  his  burial  in  any  other 
place. 

THE  OUSTER  MASSACRE 
None  Was  Left  to  Tell  the  Story 

In  a  recent  dispatch,  the  thirty-eighth  anniversary  of  the 
annihilation  of  Ouster's  command  by  the  Sioux,  an  account  of 
the  events  leading  up  to  the  battle,  was  given  by  George  H. 
Welch,  a  farmer  who  in  1876  was  a  trooper  in  the  Seventh 
cavalry.  In  the  dispatch  it  was  said  that  only  one  man  who 
participated  in  the  Custer  fight  survives — Curley,  a  Crow 
Indian,  who  was  one  of  Ouster's  scouts. 

The  story  that  Curley  the  Crow  participated  in  the  battle 
on  the  Little  Big  Horn  has  been  told  many  times,  and  just  as 
often  denied.  As  far  as  history  records,  only  one  living  mem- 
ber of  Ouster's  squadron  survived  the  fight.  The  survivor  was 
a  horse,  which  was  wounded  many  times,  but  which  recovered 
and  was  cared  for  tenderly  by  the  men  of  the  Seventh  until  it 
died  of  old  age.  If  the  scout  Curley  had  been  an  actual  par- 
ticipant in  the  battle,  the  war  department  would  have  some- 
thing definite  today  about  the  fight  for  its  records.  Every  effort 
has  been  made  to  get  the  true  story  of  that  day's  conflict,  and 
every  effort  has  failed. 

Cyrus  Townsend  Brady  probably  has  spent  more  time  than 
any  other  man  in  trying  to  get  at  the  truth  of  what  is  known 
as  the  Custer  massacre.  "The  Yellow  Haired  Chief tian," 
General  Custer,  before  advancing  into  the  valley,  where  he 
met  his  death  with  all  his  followers,  had  detached  Majors 
Reno  and  Benteen,  each  with  a  squadron,  to  advance  by  the 
flanks.  Benteen 's  force  was  turned  back  by  impassable  coun- 
try, and  it  joined  the  force  of  Reno  just  in  time  to  save  the  lat- 
ter from  Ouster's  fate.  Custer  went  to  his  death  with  225 
men,  which  were  all  the  men  General  Custer  had  on  that  day. 
Chief  Rain-in-the-Face  had  2,500  of  Sitting  Bull's  warriors.  No 
one  knows  to  this  day  the  true  story  of  how  it  all  happened. 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          47 

The  Disappointed  Tenderfoot 

(Author  Unknown) 

He  reached  the  West  in  a  palace  car 
Where  the  writers  tell  us  the  cowboys  are, 
With  the  redskin  bold,  and  the  centipede, 
And  the  rattlesnake  and  the  loco  weed. 
He  looked  around  for  the  Buckskin  Joes 
And  the  things  he  'd  seen  in  Wild  West  shows  • 
The  cowgirls  gay  and  the  broncos  wild, 
And  the  painted  face  of  an  Injun  child ; 
He  listened  close  for  the  fierce  warhoop, 
And  his  pent-up  spirits  began  to  droop, 
And  he  wondered  then  if  the  hills  and  nooks 
Held  none  of  the  sights  of  the  story  books. 

He  'd  hoped  he  would  see  the  marshal  pot 

Some  bold,  bad  man  with  a  pistol  shot ; 

And  entered  a  low  saloon  by  chance, 

Where  the  tenderfoot  is  supposed  to  dance 

While  the  cowboy  shoots  at  his  boot  heels  there, 

And  the  smoke  of  powder  begrims  the  air. 

But  all  was  quiet,  as  if  he  'd  strayed 

To  the  silent  spot  where  the  dead  are  laid ; 

Not  even  a  faro  game  was  seen 

And  no  one  flaunted  the  long,  long  green. 

'Twas  a  blow  for  him  who  had  come  in  quest 

Of  a  touch  of  the  real,  wild,  woolly  west. 

He  vainly  sought  for  a  bad  cayuse 

And  the  swirl  and  swish  of  the  flying  noose, 

And  the  cowboy's  yell  as  he  roped  a  steer, 

But  nothing  of  this  fell  on  his  ear. 

Not  even  a  wide-brimmed  hat  he  spied, 

But  derbies  flourished  on  every  side ; 

And  the  spurs  and  chaps  and  flannel  shirts, 

The  high-heeled  boots  and  the  guns  and  quirts, 

The  cowboy  saddles  and  silver  bits, 

And  fancy  bridles  and  swell  outfits 

He'd  read  about  in  the  novels  grim, 

Were  not  on  hand  for  the  likes  of  him. 


48  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

He  peered  about  for  the  stage  coach  old, 
And  the  miner-man  with  his  bag  of  gold, 
And  a  burro  train  with  its  pack  loads  which 
He  'd  read  they  tie  with  a  diamond  hitch. 
The  rattler's  whirr  and  the  coyote's  wail, 
Ne  'er  sounded  out  as  he  hit  the  trail, 
And  no  one  knew  of  a  branding  bee, 
Nor  a  steer  roundup  that  he  longed  to  see ; 
But  the  oldest  settler,  named  Six-Gun  Sim, 
Rolled  a  cigarette  and  remarked  to  him,  - 
*  *  The  west  hez  gone  to  the  East,  my  son, 
And  its  only  in  the  movies  sich  things  is  done. ' ' 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          49 


Appendix 


THE  VOORHEES  FAMILY  INHERITS  THE  FAMOUS 
LEWIS  &  CLARK  MANUSCRIPTS 

New  Material  Discovered  in  Captain  Clark's  Diary 

Note. — The  documents  and  illustrations  herewith  were  taken 
from  the  originals  in  the  possession  of  Mrs,  Julia  Clark  Voorhees 
and  Miss  Eleanor  Glasgow  Voorhees  of  New  York.  I  have,  in 
copying  from  the  original,  endeavored  to  make  the  characters, 
abbreviations,  spelling  and  punctuations,  as  exactly  as  possible 
to  correspond  with  the  original  letters  and  papers  so  long  held 
by  relatives  of  Lewis  and  Clark.  It  will  be  noticed  that  many 
sentences  commence  not  with  a  capital  letter,  but  small  letters. 

During  the  preparation  for  the  Centennial  Exposition  held 
at  St.  Louis,  1904,  a  mass  of  manuscript  material  was  discov- 
ered in  New  York  city,  which  throws  much  new  light  on  what 
is  generally  regarded  as  the  most  romantic  chapter  in  the  records 
of  American  exploration ;  the  Trans-continnetal  Expedition  made 
by  Lewis  and  Clark  in  1803-06.  To  convey  an  adequate  idea  of 
the  significance  of  those  documents,  it  will  be  necessary  briefly 
to  review  the  curious  history  of  the  official  journals  of  that  hardy 
enterprise,  planned  by  President  Jefferson,  who  had  for  twenty 
years  been  eager  to  learn  something  definite  of  the  far  west  and 
an  exploraiton  toward  the  Pacific  between  the  Missouri  and  Pa- 
cific was  one  of  his  most  ardent  schemes.  Three  previous  projects 
with  George  Rogers  Clark  in  1783,  John  Ledyard  in  1786,  and 
Andrie  Michaux  in  1793,  had  from  various  causes  proved  a  fail- 
ure. Being  now  president  as  such  he  was  able  to  induce  congress 
to  grant  the  necessary  aid  to  a  new  expedition.  At  that  date, 
1802-3,  it  was  very  difficult  to  get  a  man  with  some  knowledge  of 
science  who  had,  besides,  "scholarly  ability,  the  necessary  cour- 
age, good  habits,  good  health  &  somewhat  adapted  to  the  woods 
&  what  was  considered  most  essential,  a  man  in  a  measure  fa- 
miliar with  western  Indians. ' '  Not  being  able  to  find  such  a  man 
who  had  his  confidence,  the  President  recognized  in  his  private 
secretary,  Meriweather  Lewis,  who  had  fought  so  well  in  western 
Indian  campaigns  with  General  Anthony  Wayne  who  as  history 
says  was  prudent  but  severe.  Meriweather  Lewis  possessed  all  the 
traits  of  General  Wayne  with  a  cooler  head  and  more  reserve.  He 
was  not  regularly  educated  in  the  highest  terms  of  university  edu- 
cation but  possessed  a  great  amount  of  accurate  observation  on 


50  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

all  the  subjects  of  the  wild  west  that  would  be  likely  to  confront 
him  in  his  trip  to  the  then  great  unknown  west.  Lewis  in  March 
1803  made  a  trip  to  Philedalphia  to  take  a  short  course  of  scien- 
tific study  with  men  residing  there  which  better  qualified  him 
for  those  observations  of  the  longitude  and  latitude  necessary 
to  fix  the  points  of  the  route  he  will  travel  over.  Early  in  the 
course  of  his  preparations  Lewis  determined  with  Persident  Jef- 
ferson's consent  to  secure  a  companion  who  should  share  his 
honors  and  responsibilities.  Lewis  chose  William  Clark  who  was 
four  years  his  senior,  but  who  had  been  his  boyhood  friend  in 
Virginia. 

The  Clark  family  preceded  several  years  by  the  eldest  son, 
George  Rogers  Clark,  moved  to  Kentucky  in  1784.  When  Meri- 
weather  Lewis  was  ten  years  old  and  William  Clark  fourteen. 
Young  Clark  had  entered  upon  military  service  in  the  west  in  his 
21st  year.  As  the  result  of  exceptional  valor  and  the  execution 
of  several  difficult  missions  which  involved  the  exercise  of  con- 
siderable diplomacy  he  won  a  captaincy  under  General  Wayne — 
at  one  time  being  in  command  of  a  detachment  in  which  his  old 
friend  Lewis  served  as  ensign. 

The  interesting  correspondence  which  passed  between  these 
two  fast  friends  incidental  to  the  noted  transcontinental  expedi- 
tion, with  which  their  names  must  always  be  linked,  will  be  given 
with  this  paper. 

President  Jefferson,  with  the  true  instinct  of  a  scholar,  was 
very  much  interested  regarding  the  official  records  of  this  great 
enterprise,  which  he  had  inaugurated.  In  his  remarkable  letter 
of  instructions  to  Captain  Lewis  (June  20,  1803),  the  President 
desires  that  "  Beginning  at  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri  River 
you  will!  take  observations  of  latitude  and  longitude  at  all  re- 
markable points  and  especially  at  the  mouth  of  rivers,  at  rapids, 
at  islands  and  other  places  and  objects  distinguished  by  such 
natural  marks  and  characters  of  a  desirable  kind  as  they  may 
with  certainty  be  recognized  hereafter. ' '  The  courses  of  the  riv- 
ers and  variations  of  the  compass  are  also  to  be  noted"  with 
great  pains  and  accuracy  "  as  a  '  *  knowledge  of  these  people  is  im- 
portant. ' '  A  long  and  carefully  enumerated  variety  of  data  are 
to  be  accumulated  regarding  the  Indian  tribes ' '  also  notes  regard- 
ing the  geology,  fauna,  flora  and  meteorology  of  the  region — all 
of  which  is  particularly  desirable.  It  is  especially  required  that 
several  copies  of  your  notes  should  be  made  at  leisure  time  and 
put  into  the  care  of  the  most  trustworthy  of  your  attendants  to 
guard  by  multiplying  them  against  the  accidental  losses  to  which 
they  will  be  exposed.  I  remind  you  also  that  in  the  loss  of  your- 
selves we  will  lose  also  the  information  you  will  have  acquired 
and  as  further  precaution  is  required,  to  communicate  to  us  at 
reasonable  intervals  a  copy  of  your  journal  notes  and  observa- 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          51 

tions  of  every  kind  putting-  into  cypher  whatever  might  do  in- 
jury if  betrayed. ' ' 

(Note. — At  the  time  of  these  instructions,  the  country  to  be 
explored  and  thus  opened  to  the  American  fur  trade,  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  Spanish.)  For  at  that  time  France  had  not  yet 
resumed  control  of  the  trans-Mississippi  after  the  recession  of 
1800,  and  their  suspicions  must  not  be  aroused.  (Note  Journal 
news  of  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  from  Napoleon  had  not  yet 
reached  Washington,  but  that  Jefferson  had  secretly  obtained 
some  inkling  of  this  event  is  evident  from  Lewis '  letter  to  Clark, 
written  the  day  before  these  instructions  are  dated  and  given  at 
length.  Possibly  the  instruction^  were  actually  written  before 
Lewis's  letter.) 

Lewis  left  Washington  on  the  morning  of  July  5,  1803,  a 
few  days  after  the  receipt  from  Paris  of  the  Louisiana  purchase. 
These  circumstances  had  in  no  way  altered  his  arrangements, 
save  that  it  was  unnecessary  further  that  secrecy  as  to  the  pur- 
pose of  the  exploration  which  had  hitherto  been  enjoined  upon 
him.  The  expedition  was  of  a  military  detachment  of  about 
thirty  persons,  besides  several  French  Canadians  and  half-breeds, 
hunters,  trappers,  interpreters  and  boatmen. 

The  first  winter  camp  at  River  Dubois  in  Illinoise  opposite 
the  Missouri  where  the  men  rigorously  drilled  both  as  soldiers 
and  frontiersmen.  the  long  and  painful  upstream  journey 
during  the  Spring,  Summer  and  Autumn  of  1804  followed  by 
the  Winter  among  the  Mandan  Indians  at  Mandan  which  was 
about  or  near  the  present  town  of  Bismarck,  North  Dakota,  the 
difficult  journey  in  1805  to  the  head  waters  of  the  Missouri  River. 
Having  ascended  the  very  head  waters  of  the  Missouri  with  their 
boats  Lewis  and  Clark  realized  that  they  must  obtain  some  other 
mode  of  carrying  their  equipments  than  by  boat  in  order  to  reach 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River,  as  they  had  not  met  any  In- 
dians having  ponies  up  to  the  time  of  their  reaching  the  head 
waters  of  the  Mo.  River  Lewis  himself  left  the  party  making  a 
dangerous  journey  of  three  days  travel  on  foot  over!  and  into 
an  unexplored  country  to  try  and  find  some  tribe  of  indians  who 
had  horses  to  sell  or  trade.  On  the  third  day  he  succeeded  in 
finding  a  tribe  of  Snake  Indians  who  had  numbers  of  ponies  which 
he  bargained  for  returning  to  camp  with  ponies  and  Indians  in 
almost  a  starved  condition,  living  a  part  of  the  time  on  some  in- 
ferior berries,  roots  &c.  On  getting  the  ponies  they  cached  their 
boats  and  some  of  their  equipment  to  bg  used  on  their  return  trip. 
Preparing  pack  saddles  which  they  had  got  of  the  Indians  to 
transport  their  goods  and  such  provisions  as  they  had  they  suc- 
ceeded in  reaching  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River  in  November 
1805.  In  April  1806  they  left  Fort  Clapstop  on  their  return  to 
St.  Louis  in  the  trip  from  St.  Louis  to  the  Pacific  was  consumed 
two  years,  four  months  and  nine  days.  There  is  no  room  to  doubt 


52  Personal  Recollections  of  Pio^wer  Life 

that  each  of  the  two  men  Lewis  &  Clark  kept  his  required  diary 
with  perfect  fidelity  excepting  the  few  closing  weeks  of  the  ex- 
pedition Lewis  was  disabled  from  a  gunshot  wound.  There  are 
now  original  notebooks  by  Clark  covering  all  but  ten  days  of  the 
period;  but  unfortunately  Lewis's'  diaries  lack  four  hundred 
days  exclusive  of  his  sickness  from  a  gunshot  wound.  Floyd 
Gass  and  Ordway  sergeants  also  it  has  been  published  that  at 
least  three  of  the  privates  (soldiers)  kept  diaries.  Gass's  journal 
has  been  published,  but  I  have  never  been  able  to  get  it  so  I  could 
peruse  it.  Joseph  Whitehouse's  journal  was  published  and  I 
have  been  told  could  be  found  in  the  National  Library  Washing- 
ton D.  C.  It  has  been  said  that  it  was  the  habit  of  Lewis  and 
Clark  eachj  night  or  while  resting  in  the  boats  to  make  rough 
notes  in  pocket  field  books  many  of  whose  pages  bear  rude  out- 
line maps,  plans  and  miscellaneous  sketches. 

When  encamped  for  a  protracted  period,  these  fieldbooks 
were  developed  into  more  formal  records;  the  note-books  kept 
at  Fort  Mandan  and  Fort  Clapsop  were  particularly  well  done, 
for  here  there  was  leisure  to  make  exhaustive  inquiries  among 
Indian  neighbors  and  to  set  forth  the  results  with  proper  care. 

When  developing  their  field-notes  into  better  form,  each 
appears  to  have  often  borrowed  freely  from  the  other.  Lewis, 
the  more  scholarly  of  the  two,  generally  re-wrote,  in  his  own 
manner,  the  material  obtained  from  Clark ;  but  the  latter  not  in- 
frequently copied  Lewis  practically  verbatim,  although  with 
phonetic  spelling.  Clark  was,  however,  not  only  the  better  fron- 
tiersman, but  served  as  the  engineer  of  the  detachment.  Lack- 
ing formal  instruction  in  draughtsmanship,  he  nevertheless  made 
numerous  and  excellent  maps,  and  upon  the  pages,  both  of  his 
own  and  Lewis's  note-books,  drew  sketches  of  birds,  fish,  leaves, 
native  implements,  and  the  like,  with  much  exactness;  some  of 
his  small  colored  maps  would  have  been  worthy  of  a  skilled  en- 
gineer. Upon  arriving  at  St.  Louis  the  individual  journals  were 
for  the  most  part  transcribed  by  their  authors  into  neat  blank- 
books,  bound  in  red  morocco,  with  brass  clasps,  and  gilt-edged, 
with  the  thought  of  preparing  them  for  early  publication.  After 
this  process,  the  original  field-books  must  have  been  cast  aside, 
and  in  large  measure  destroyed. 

From  the  inception  of  the  enterprise,  it  had  been  intended 
by  Jefferson  that  the  results  should  be  published ;  but  a  curious 
chain  of  circumstances,  needless  to  relate  here  in  detail — although 
their  recitation  would  make  an  entertaining  chapter  in  Biblio- 
graphical history — delayed  this  consummation  until  seven  and  a 
half  years  after  the  return.  Gass's  journal,  originally  rude  notes, 
but  moulded  into  presentable  form  by  a  West  Virginia  school- 
•master,  had  promptly  appeared  in  1807.  In  that  year,  urged  by 
Jefferson,  Lewis  himself  issued  a  prospectus  announcing  the 
speedy  publication  of  the  official  narrative. 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          53 

The  first  volume  was  to  contain  the  "  narrative  of  the  voy- 
age," the  second  to  be  devoted  chiefly  to  an  account  of  "the  In- 
dian nations  distributed  over  that  vast  region."  and  the  third 
"exclusively  to  scientific  research."  Apart  from  this  was  to  be 
published  "Lewis  and  Clark's  Map  of  North  America,  from 
longitude  9°  west  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  between  36°  and  52° 
north  latitude,  with  extensive  marginal  notes,  dimensions  five  feet 
eight  inches  by  three  feet  ten  inches,  embracing  all  their  late  dis- 
coveries, and  that  part  of  the  continent  hertofore  the  least 
known."  Unfortunately  for  this  project,  the  two  captains  had 
soon  after  their  return  received,  together  with  commissions  as 
generals,  important  government  appointments — Lewis  being 
made  governor  of  Louisiana  Territory,  and  Clark  its  Indian  agent 
and  brigadier  general  of  militia,  their  official  residences  being  St. 
Louis.  The  onerous  duties  appertaining  to  these  offices,  in  the 
new  and  vast  territory  through  which  they  had  explored,  were 
necessarily  absorbing ;  and  neither  being  a  literary  man,  the  task 
of  publication  was  under  such  circumstances  easily  deferred. 

In  October,  1809,  Lewis,  heeding  Jefferson 's  continued  nudg- 
ing— for  the  great  man  was  visibly  fretting  under  the  delay — 
was  proceeding  to  Washington  and  Philadelphia,  incidentally  on 
government  business,  but  chiefly  to  get  his  work  under  way,  when 
he  was  murdered  some  60  miles  southwest  of  Nashville.  Clark, 
as  the  surviving  commander,  was  at  once  approached  by  the  in- 
defatigable Jefferson,  with  the  result  that  Nicholas  Biddle,  of 
Philadelphia — then  well  known  as  a  young  man  of  letters,  a  law- 
yer, and  a  publicist — was  engaged  to  edit  the  journals.  With  the 
Lewis  and  Clark  journals  and  maps  before  him,  and  further  aid- 
ed by  the  printed  account  of  Gass  and  the  manuscript  journals 
of  Ordway  and  Pryor,  together  with  the  verbal  testimony  of 
Clark  and  Private  George  Shannon,  Biddle,  at  the  close  of  a  year, 
reported  to  Clark  (July  8,  18110  that  he  had  "completed  the 
work  according  to  our  agreement, ' '  and  was  ' '  ready  to  put  it  to 
the  press."  There  was,  however,  considerable  difficulty  in  pro- 
curing a  publisher,  for  business  was  stagnant  because  of  the  war 
of  1812-15.  Bradford  and  Inskeep  were  finally  induced  to  un- 
dertake the  responsibility;  but  before  the  work  was  issued  (Feb- 
ruary, 1814)  the  publishers  were  in  the  bankruptcy  court,  the 
result  being  that  less  than  1,500  copies  were  actually  sold ;  while 
the  net  profits  were  estimated  at  only  $154.10,  of  which  neither 
Clark  nor  Biddle  appeared  to  have  received  a  penny. 

The  amount  of  manuscript  material  handled  by  Biddle  in 
the  editing  of  the  journals,  must  have  Aggregated  about  a  million 
and  a  half  words.  From  this  he  constructed  a  narrative  of  some 
three  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  words.  A  large  portion  of 
the  scientific  matter  had,  however,  been  eliminated,  an  arrange^- 
ment  having  been  made  by  Clark  for  its  editing  and  publication 
by  Dr.  Benjamin  Smith  Barton,  an  eminent  Philadelphia  scien- 


54  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

tist ;  but  this  plan  fell  through,  owing  to  Barton 's  illness  and  sub- 
sequent death.  Thus,  while  the  Bicldle  narrative  contains  a  pop- 
ular account  of  some  of  the  principal  discoveries,  very  little  of 
the  great  mass  of  scientific  data  so  laboriously  noted  by  Lewis  and 
Clark,  has  thus  far  been  given  to  the  world. 

Says  R.  G.  Goldthwaites,  '  *  The  narrative  by  Biddle  is  emi- 
nently readable,  possessing  both  unity  and  a  simple  and  forceful 
literary  style.  The  first  person  plural  is  used,  save  where  the 
captains  are  individually  mentioned,  and  then  we  have  the  third 
person  singular.  So  skillfully  is  the  work  done  that  probably 
few  readers  have  realized  that  they  had  not  before  them  the  veri- 
table journals  of  the  explorers  themselves,  written  upon  the  spot. 
The  result  will  remain  one  of  the  most  digested  and  most  interest- 
ing books  of  American  travel,  comparable  in  many  respects  with 
"Astoria"  and  " Booneville 's  Adventures" — of  course,  lacking 
Irving 's  charm  of  style ;  but  possessing  what  Irving 's  two  western 
classics  sometimes  do  not,  the  ring  of  truth,  which  never  fails  to 
appeal  to  those  who  love  a  tale  of  noble  adventure  in  the  cause  of 
civilization. ' ' 

But  Jefferson,  having  impatiently  awaited  the  publication 
of  the  records,  for  nearly  eight  years  after  the  return  of  the  ex- 
pedition, appears  not  unnaturally  to  have  been  dissatisfied  with 
the  result.  That  the  scientific  material  should  thus  be  laid  aside, 
particularly  annoyed  him.  His  correspondence  with  learned 
friends  in  Europe  was  burdened  with  laments  over  the  unfortu- 
nate literary  finale  to  the  expedition  concerning  which  he  had 
long  cherished  such  high  hopes. 

In  1816  we  find  him  instituting  a  search  for  the  manuscript 
journals  of  the  explorers,  with,  a  view  of  placing  them  in  the 
archives  of  the  American  Pholosophical  Society,  of  which  he  had 
for  several  years  been  president.  These  had  become  widely  scat- 
tered, and  he  was  obliged  to  exercise  great  pressure  in  inducing 
Clark  and  Biddle  to  bestir  themselves  in  the  matter;  indeed,  he 
plainly  threatened  the  intervention  of  the  War  Department,  by 
which  the  expedition  was  set  forth,  and  insisted  that  the  records 
were  "the  property  of  the  government,  the  fruits  of  the  expedi- 
tion undertaken  at  such  expense  of  money  and  risk  of  valuable 
lives. "  "  They  contain  exactly  the  whole  of  the  information  which 
it  was  our  object  to  obtain  for  the  benefit  of  our  own  country  and 
of  the  world,  but  we  were  willing  to  give  to  Lewis  and!  Clark 
whatever  pecuniary  benefits  might  be  derived  from  the  publica- 
tion, and  therefore  left  the  papers  in  their  hands,  taking  for 
granted  that  their  interests  would  produce  a  speedy  publication, 
which  would  be  better  if  done  under  their  direction."  But 
'  *  From  the  mortification  of  not  having  succeeded  in  giving  to  the 
world  all  the  results  of  that  expedition,"  he  proposed  now  to 
place  them  where  at  least  scholars  can  have  access  to  them,  and 
possibly  some  time  arrange  for  their  publication  in  full. 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          55 

Convinced,  at  last,  that  he  had  found  all  he  sought,  or  at  least 
all  that  was  obtainable,  Jefferson  arranged  with  Biddle  (April  6, 
1818)  to  deposit  the  documents  with  the  American  Philosophical 
Society.  For  nearly  seventy-five  years  this  important  material 
remained  unnoticed  and  forgotten  in  the  vaults  of  the  society  at 
Philadelphia,  until,  in  December,  1892,  Dr.  Elliott  Coues  acci- 
dentally learned  of  its  existence.  He  was  at  the  time  engaged  in 
editing  a  reprint  of  the  Biddle  text,  and  enriched  his  notes  with 
a  number  of  citations  from  the  originals — unfortunately  freely 
modernizd,  as  was  his  custom  with  the  western  manuscripts  which 
he  edited.  These  modified  excerpts  but  served  to  wet  the  appe- 
tites of  historical  students,  and  thus  led  to  the  project  for  their 
eventual  publication  in  extenso  and  with  literal  accuracy. 

In  the  spring  of  1901,  the  American  Philosophical  Society 
arranged  with  a  New  York  house  for  the  publication  of  the  Lewis 
and  Clark  journals,  direct  from  the  original  manuscripts  in  their 
custody — the  present  writer  being  engaged  as  the  editor  of  the 
work — R.  G.  Goldthwaite.  Biddle 's  letter  accompanying  the  de- 
posit of  the  note-books  with  the  Philosophical  Society,  stated  that 
the  journal  of  Ordway  was  excepted,  because  Clark  had  asked  for 
its  return  to  him  as  his  private  property.  As  the  journal  of 
Floyd  had  been  loaned  by  its  owner,  the  Wisconsin  Historical 
Societjr,  for  the  purpose  of  insertion  in  this  publication,  and  the 
publishers  had  secured  the  hitherto  unknown  journal  of  White- 
house,  it  seemed  desirable  to  add  the  Ordway  journal,  if  in  ex- 
istence. 

The  several  descendents  of  General  William  Clark  were  at 
once  applied  to,  for  permission  to  use  the  journal,  in  case  it  could 
be  found  among  the  family  papers.  As  the  result  of  protracted 
negotiations,  an  unexpected  situation  was  revealed.  The  third 
son  and  fourth  child  of  General  Clark  and  his  first  wife,  Julia 
Hancock,  was  George  Rogers  Hancock  Clark,  born  at  St.  Louis  in 
1816.  This  son  was  his  father's  executor,  and  as  such  came  into 
the  possession  of  the  explorer's  papers  and  numerous  other  fam- 
ily relics,  many  of  which  he  appears  to  have  arranged  and  la- 
belled with  some  care.  Upon  his  death,  in  1858,  they  descended 
to  his  eldest  child,  now  Mrs.  Julia  Clark  Voorhees  of  New  York 
City,  whose  proprietary  rights  are  at  present  shared  with  her 
daughter,  Miss  Eleanor  Glasgow  Voorhees. 

Some  six  or  seven  years  ago,  Mrs.  Voorhees  permitted  the 
publisher's  of  Scribner's  Magazine  to  use  certain  of  the  Clark 
relics  for  illustrating  an  historical  publication  of  the  time,  and 
had  promised  to  the  magazine  the  privilege  of  using  such  literary 
material  in  her  collection  as  might  be  selected  for  its  pages, 
Later,  Miss  Voorhees  began  the  selection,  for  a  projected  work  of 
her  own,  of  certain  documents  which  appertained  to  the  public 
careers  of  various  members  of  the  Clark  family,  particularly 
William  and  George  Rogers. 


56  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

Such  was  the  situation  when  the  present  writer,  R.  G.  Gold- 
thwaite,  came  upon  the  scene,  with  his  application  for  the  Ord- 
way  journal;  unconscious  of  the  other  historical  manuscripts 
which,  still  unknown  to  students  of  American  history — although, 
as  we  have  seen,  a  few  publishers  had  general  knowledge  of  it — 
lay  in  the  possession  of  the  Voorhees  family.  Indeed,  the  ladies 
themselves  were  as  yet  unaware  of  the  full  significance  of  their 
treasures,  especially  these  appertaining  to  the  great  expedition. 
In  the  autumn  of  1903  the  writer  was  informed  by  Mrs.  and  Miss 
Voorhees  that  search  for  the  Ordway  journal,  among  the  papers 
left  by  General  Clark,  while  unsuccessful  as  to  that  document, 
had  revealed  the  existence  of  other  material  presumably  of  inter- 
est in  connection  with  the  journey  of  Lewis  and  Clark.  Several 
visits  were  made  to  New  York,  for  the  purpose  of  carefully  ex- 
amining the  family  papers  thus  suddenly  revealed,  at  each  of 
which  fresh  " finds"  were  made,  of  manuscript  records,  maps  and 
letters,  mostly  by  Clark,  much  of  which  evidently  had  not  been 
opened  within  the  fifty  years  or  more  which  had  elapsed  since 
George  Rogers  Hancock  Clark,  with  filial  regard,  classified  and 
labelled  them.  The  Clark- Voorhees  collection,  as  we  may  for  con- 
venience term  it,  is  of  surprising  richness,  and  proves  to  be  of  the 
utmost  importance  in  a  study  of  the  famous  expedition  whose 
centennial  we  are  now  observing. 

There  are,  in  this  interesting  collection,  four  red  morocco 
note-books,  written  up  in  St.  Louis  after  the  return  of  the  expedi- 
tion, and  similar  to  those  in  the  collection  of  the  American  Philo- 
sophical Society ;  three  of  these  are  diaries  by  Clark,  covering  the 
dates  April  7  to  July  3,  1805,  January  30  to  April  3,  1806,  and 
April  4  to  June  6,  1806 ;  the  fourth  is  a  brief  record  of  weather, 
distances,  and  astronomical  and  ethnological  data,  together  with 
four  colored  maps.  There  is  also  one  of  Clark 's  pocket  field- 
books,  with  his  diary  for  September1  11  to  December  31,  1805, 
amply  illustrated  by  about  twenty  sketch  maps  of  the  trail  over 
the  mountains,  and  two  rude  plans  of  Fort  Clatsop,  most  of  these 
interwoven  with  the  badly  blurred  text.  This  book  consists  of 
small  sheets  of  poper  rudely  sewn  together,  being  evidently  made 
up  enroute,  as  necessity  demanded,  and  wrapped  about  a  soft 
piece  of  elk-skin.  It  is  the  only  actual  field-book  by  the  captains, 
now  known  to  be  in  existence.  Another  valuable  document  is  the 
detachment's  orderly  book,  runnirg  from  April  1  to  October  13, 
1804,  with  separate  sheets  covering  a  few  earlier  and  later  dates, 
as  revealing  the  methods  of  disciplining  the  party,  these  orders 
are  of  some  value.  Theer  are  ten  letters  (some  of  them  drafts), 
exhibiting  for  the  first  time  the  relations  between  the  two  com- 
manders— one  of  Lewis,  offering  Clark  an  equal  partnership  in 
the  enterprise;  Clark's  letters  of  acceptance,  addressed  both  to 
President  Jefferson  and  to  Lewis;  Lewis  to  Clark,  expressing 
gratification  at  the  latter 's  decision,  and  others — all  of  them  to 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          57 

be  quoted  either  in  full  or  in  substance  below.  Among  the  mis- 
cellaneous letters  and  memoranda  are  the  original  copy  of  Jeffer- 
sons'  famous  (but  useless)  letter  of  credit,  which  was  carried  by 
Lewis -throughout  the  journey — Jefferson's  copy  being  preserved 
at  the  State  Department  in  Washington ;  Clark's  various  military 
commissions,  issued  before  and  after  the  expedition ;  fragmentary 
records  of  courses  and  distances,  Indian  tribes,  weather  data, 
and  the  like ;  and  notes  on  the  Assiniboine  country,  obtained  from 
British  traders  at  Fort  Mandan.  But  still  more  important  to  the 
historian  and  the  geographer — because,  unlike  the  other  papers, 
they  are  for  the  most  part  absolutely  new  material,  not  covered  in 
any  of  the  Philadelphia  documents  are  the  sixty  or  more  maps 
discovered  in  the  Clark- Voorhees  collection.  These,  all  of  them 
by  Clark,  vary  in  size  from  eight  inches  square  to  irregularly 
shaped  charts  consisting  of  sheets  of  letter  paper  gummed  togeth- 
er, a  few  instances  attaining  a  combined  length  of  eight  feet. 
Collectively,  the  maps  illustrate  the  greater  part  of  the  journey 
both  going  and  returning ;  and  upon  them  are  not  only  accurate- 
ly noted  the  camping  places,  but  occasionally  there  are  interest- 
ing marginal  comments  on  the  country  and  the  Indians,  and  ref- 
erences to  some  of  the  incidents  of  the  day. 

A  query  arises  in  this  connection ;  why  did  not  General  Clark 
surrender  this  wealth  of  manuscripts  either  to  the  American 
Philosophical  Society  or  to  Jefferson,  when  the  latter  was  eagerly 
searching  for  all  the  documents  in  the  case,  claiming  them  as  the 
undoubted  property  of  the  government?  The  probable  answer 
is,  that  Biddle  found  the  four  Clark  morocco  note-books  of  no 
service  to  him ;  for  practically  all  of  the  facts  contained  in  them 
are  noted  either  in  Lewis's  journals  of  similar  dates,  or  in  later 
drafts  by  Clark  as  a  rule,  fuller,  and  in  better  form.  He  there- 
fore probably  returned  the  books  to  Clark,  in  the  early  stages  of 
the  work,  keeping  only  those  which  later  were  placed  in  the  so- 
ciety's archives.  It  is  probable,  also,  that  the  engraver  having 
completed  the  few  maps  whcih  he  deemed  necessary  for  the  pub- 
lication, all  of  the  charts  made  upon  the  expedition  were  return- 
ed to  Clark.  As  for  the  skin-bound  field-book,  this  having  al- 
ready been  transcribed  into  a  red  morocco  note-book,  very  likely 
the  original  did  >not  go  to  Biddle  at  all ;  the  orderly  book,  the 
various  fragments,  the  Lewis-Clark  correspondence,  and  the  let- 
ter of  credit,  were  doubtless  also  kept  at  St.  Louis  as  being  deemed 
for  Biddle 's  purpose  of  a  popular  narrative,  unusable  material. 

On  his  part,  it  is  possible  that  Clark  had  either  forgotten  the 
existence  of  these  documents,  or,  like  Biddle,  considered  them 
as  of  relatively  slight  historical  value.  His  seemingly  careless 
treatment  of  them  would  appear  to  bear  out  the  last  conclusion. 
In  all  events,  they  remained  among  his  papers  until  arranged 
by1  his  son  and  executor,  George  Rogers  Hancock  Clark.  There- 


58  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

after,  many  were  unopened  until  a  full  half-century  later  when 
the  ladies  undertook  to  search  among  them  for  the  missing  jour- 
nal of  Ordway,  which  still  eludes  them. 

For  the  first  time  since  the  return  of  the  expedition  in  Sep- 
tember, 1806,  it  has  at  last  become  possible,  through  the  discovery 
of  the  Clark- Voorhees  collection,  to  publish  to  the  world  prac- 
tically all  of  the  literary  records  now  extant,  of  one  of  the  most 
notable  enterprises  in  the  history  of  civilization.  When  publish- 
ed without  elimination,  as  they  bid  fair  to  be  within  the  present 
year,  the  original  journals  will  create  a  new  interest  in  the  deeds 
of  Lewis  and  Clark.  Not  only  do  they  much  more  than  quad- 
ruple the  number  of  words  in  the  Biddle  narrative,  and  the  volu- 
minous scientific  data  in  botany,  zoology,  meteorology,  geology, 
astronomy  and  ethnology — constitute  an  almost  entirely  new  con- 
tribution, but  we  obtain  from  the  men's  note-books,  as  written 
from  day  to  day,  and  the  allied  manuscripts  which  are  at  last 
available,  a  far  more  vivid  picture  of  the  explorers  and  their  life, 
than  can  be  seen  through  the  alembic  of  Biddle 's  impersonal 
condensation. 

There  is  certainly  nowhere  obtainable  a  more  charming  pic- 
ture of  man's  love  for  man,  than  is  revealed  both  in  the  affection- 
ate letters  betwen  Lewis  and  Clark  prior  to  the  expedition — and 
herewith  published  for  the  first  time — and  in  the  pages  of  their 
private  manuscript  journals  which  are  soon  to  appear  in  book 
form.  Although  Lewis  was  chosen  by  Jefferson  as  the  official 
leader,  he  persisted  in  selecting  Clark  not  only  as  a  companion, 
but  in  all  respects  his  equal  in  rank.  Dividing  between  them  the 
control  of  the  party  through  practically  three  years,  and  often 
confronted  by  situations  in  which  the  greatest  possible  tact  was 
essential  to  the  harmony  of  such  a  relation,  we  find  the  two 
friends  true  to  the  end ;  nowhere  is  there  evident  a  single  note 
of  discord,  and  no1}  infrequently  do  they  exhibit  in  their  diaries 
a  mutual  attachment  of  that  tender  sort  seldom  seen  among  men. 

The  following  letter  of  Lewis,  proposing  the  project  to  Clark 
is  from  various  points  of  view  an  interesting  contribution  to  the 
history  of  the  expedition : 

Washington,  June  19th,  1803. 
Dear  Clark: 

Herewith  inclosed  you  will  receive  papers  belonging  to  your 
brother  Genl.  Clark,  which  sometime  since  you  requested  me  to 
procure  and  forward  to  you ;  pray  excuse  delay  which  has  taken 
place,  it  has  really  proceeded  from  causes  which  I  could  not  con- 
troll  ;  Mr.  Thompson  Mason,  the  gentleman  in  whose  possession 
they  were,  is  a  member  of  the  Virginia  legislature,  and  was  ab- 
sent of  course  from  his  residence  untill  March,  previous  to  his , 
return  I  was  compelled  to  leave  this  place  on  a  matter  of  business, 
which  had  detained  me  in  Lancaster  &  Philadelphia  until  the  day 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          59 

before  yesterday  and  since  my  return  having  possessed  myself  of 
the  papers  I  seize  the  first  moment  to  forward  them  to  you ;  in  this 
claim  I  wish  you  success  most  sincerely. 

From  the  long  and  uninterrupted  friendship  and  confidence 
which  has  subsisted  between  us  I  feel  no  hesitation  in  making  to 
you  the  following  communication  under  the  f ulest  impression  that 
it  will  be  held  by  you  inviolable  secret  untill  I  see  you,  or  you 
shall  hear  from  me  again. 

During  the  last  session  of  Congress  a  law  was  passed  in  con- 
formity to  a  private  message  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  intiled  "An  Act  making  an  appropriation  for  extending 
the  external  commerce  of  the  United  States. ' '  The  object  of  this 
Act  as  understood  by  its  framers  was  to  give  the  sanction  of  the 
government  to  exploring  the  interior  of  the  continent  of  North 
America,  or  that  part  of  it  bordering  on  the  Missourie  &  Colum- 
bia Rivers.  This  enterprise  has  been  confided  to  me  by  the  Presi- 
dent, and  in  consequence  since  the  begining  of  March  I  have  been 
engaged  in  making  the  necessary  preparations  for  the  tour,  these 
arrangements  being  now  nearly  completed.  I  shall  set  out  for 
Pittsburg  (the  intended  point  of  embarcation)  about  the  last  of 
this  month,  and  as  soon  after  as  from  the  state  of  the  water  you 
can  reasonably  expect  me  I  shall  be  with  you,  say  about  the  10th 
of  August.  To  aid  me  in  this  enterprise  I  have  the  most  ample 
and  hearty  support  that  the  government  can  give  in  every  pos- 
sible shape.  I  am  armed  with  the  authority  of  the  government  of 
the  U.  States  for  my  protection,  so  far  as  its  authority  or  influ- 
ence extends ;  in  addition  to  which,  the  further  aid  has  been  given 
me  of  liberal  passports  from  the  Ministers  both  of  France  and 
England ;  I  am  instructed  to  select  from  any  corps  in  the  army  a 
number  of  noncommissioned  officers  and  privates  not  exceeding 
12,  who  may  be  disposed  voluntarily  to  enter  into  this  service ;  and 
am  also  authorized  to  engage  any  other. men  not  soldiers  that  I 
may  think  useful!  in  promoting  the  objects  or  success  of  this  ex- 
pedition. I  am  likewise  furnished  with  letters  of  credit,  and 
authorized  to  draw  on  the  government  for  any  sum  necessary  for 
the  comfort  of  myself  and  party.  To  all  the  persons  engaged 
.in  this  service  I  am  authorized  to  offer  the  following  rewards  by 
way  of  inducement — 1  the  bounty  (if  not  a  soldier)  but  in  both 
cases  six  months  pay  in  advance ;  2  to  discharge  them  from  the 
service  if  they  wish  it,  immediately  on  their  return  from  the  ex- 
pedition giving  them  their  arrears  of  pay  clothing  &c.  &  3  to  se- 
cure to  them  a  portion  of  land  equal  to^that  given  by  the  United 
States  to  the  officers  and  soldiers  who  served  in  the  revolutionary 
army.  This  is  a  short  view  of  means  with  which  I  am  intrusted 
to  carry  this  plan  of  the  Government  into  effect.  I  will  now  give 
you  a  short  sketch  of  my  plan  of  opperation ;  I  shall  embark  at 
Pittsburg  with  a  party  of  recruits  eight  or  nine  in  number,  in- 
tended only  to  manage  the  boat  and  are  not  calculated  on  as  a 


60  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

permanent  part  of  my  detachment;  when  descending  the  Ohio 
it  shall  be  my  duty  by  enquiry  to  find  out  and  engage  some  good 
hunters  stout,  healthy,  unmarried  young  men,  accustomed  to  the 
woods,  and  capable  of  bearing  bodily  fatigue  in  a  pretty  consid- 
erable degree;  should  any  young  men  answering  this  description 
by  found  in  your  neighborhood  I  would  thank  you  to  give  infor- 
mation of  them  on  my  arrivall  at  the  falls  of  the  Ohio;  and  if 
possible  learn  the  probability  of  their  engaging  in  this  service, 
this  may  be  done  perhaps  by  holding  out  the  idea  that  the  direc- 
tion of  this  expedition  if  up  the  Mississippi  to  its  source,  and 
thence  to  the  lake  of  the  Woods,  stating  the  probable  period  of 
absence  at  about  18  months ;  if  they  would  engage  themselves  in 
a  service  of  this  description  there  would  be  but  little  doubt  that 
they  would  engage  in  the  real  design  when  it  became  necessary  to 
make  it  known  to  them,  which  I  should  take  care  to  do  before  I 
finaly  engaged  them : — The  soldiers  that  will  most  probably  an- 
swer this  expedition  best  will  be  found  in  some  of  the  companies 
stationed  at  Massac,  Kaskaskias  &  Illinois ;  pardon  this  digression 
from  the  description  of  my  plan :  it  is  to  descend  the  Ohio  in  a 
keeled  boat  of  about  ten  tons  burthen,  from  Pittsburg  to  its 
mouth,  thence  up  the  Mississippi  to  the  mouth  of  the  Missourie, 
and  up  that  river  as  far  as  its  navigation  is  practicable  with  a 
boat  of  this  description,  there  to  prepare  canoes  of  bark  or  raw- 
hides, and  proceed  to  it's  source,  and  if  practicable  pass  over  to 
the  waters  of  the  Columbia  or  Origan  River  and  by  descending  it 
reach  the  Western  Ocean ;  the  mouth  of  this  river  lies  about  one 
hundred  and  forty  miles  South  of  Nootka-Sound,  at  which  place 
there  is  a  considerable  European  Trading  establishment,  and 
from  which  it  will  be  easy  to  obtain  a  passage  to  the  United 
States  by  way  of  the  East-Indies  in  some  of  the  tradeing  vessels 
that  visit  Nootka-Sound  annually,  provided  it  should  be  thought 
more  expedient  to  do  sor  than  to  return  by  the  rout  I  had  pur- 
sued in  my  outward  bound  journey.  The  present  season  being 
already  so  far  advanced,  I  do  not  calculate  on  getting  further 
than  two  or  three  hundred  miles  up  the  Missourie  before  the  com- 
mencement of  the  ensuing  winter.  At  this  point  wherever  it  may 
be  I  shall  make  myself  as  comfortable  as  possible  during  the  win- 
ter and  resume  my  journey  as  early  in  the  spring  as  the  ice  will 
permit: — should  nothing  take  place  to  defeat  my  progress  alto- 
gether I  feel  confident  that  my  passage  to' the  Western  ocean  can 
be  effected  by  the  end  of  the  next  Summer  or  the  beginning  of 
Autumn.  In  order  to  subsist  my  party  with  some  degree  of  com- 
fort dureing  the  ensuing  winter,  I  shall  engage  some  French 
traders  at  Illinois  at  attend  me  to  my  wintering  ground  with  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  flour,  pork  &c.  to  serve  them  plentifully 
during  the  winter,  and  thus  be  enabled  to  set  out  in  the  Spring 
with  a  healthy  and  vigorous  party.  So  much  for  the  great  out- 
lines of  this  scheem,  permit  me  now  to  mention  partially  the  ob- 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          61 

jects  which  it  has  in  view  or  those  which  it  is  desirable  to  effect 
through  it's  means,  and  then  conclude  this  lengthy  communica- 
tion. You  must  know  in  the  first  place  that  very  sanguine  expec- 
tations' are  at  this  time  formed  by  our  Government  that  the  whole 
of  that  immense  country  watered  by  the  Mississippi  and  it's  trib- 
utary streams,  Missouri e  inclusive,  will  be  the  property  of  the  U. 
States  in  less  than  12  months  from  this  date;  but  let  me  again 
impress  you  with  the  necessity  of  keeping  this  matter  a  perfect 
secret.  In  such  a  state  of  things  therefore  as  we  have  every  rea- 
son to  hope,  you  will  readily  concieve  the  importance  to  the  U. 
States  of  an  early  and  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  tribes  that 
inhabit  that  country,  that  they  should  be  early  impressed  with 
the  just  idea  of  the  rising  importance  of  the  U.  States  and  of  her 
friendly  dispositions  towards  them,  as  also  her  desire  to  become 
useful!  to  them  by  furnishing  them  through  her  citizens  with  such 
articles  by  way  of  barter  as  may  be  desired  by  them  or  usefull  to 
them.  The  other  objects  of  this  mission  are  scientific,  and  of 
course  not  less  interesting  to  the  U.  States  than  to  the  world  gen- 
erally such  is  the  ascertaining  by  celestial  observation  the  geog- 
raphy of  the  country  through  which  I  shall  pass;  the  names  of 
the  nations  who  inhabit  it,  the  extent  and  limitts  of  their  several 
possessions,  their  relation  with  other  tribes  and  nations;  their 
language,  traditions,  and  monuments ;  their  ordinary  occupations 
in  fishing,  hunting,  war,  arts,  and  the  implements  for  their  food, 
clothing  and  domestic  accommodation ;  the  diseases  prevalent 
among  them  and  the  remedies  they  use ;  the  articles  of  commerce 
they  may  need,  or  furnish,  and  to  what  extent ;  the  soil  and  face 
of  the  country;  it's  growth  and  vegetable  productions  its  ani- 
mals ;  the  miniral  productions  of  every  description ;  and  in  short 
to  collect  the  best  possible  information  relative  to  whatever  the 
country  may  afford  as  a  tribute  to  general  science. 

My  instruments  for  celestial  observation  are  an  excellent  set 
and  my  supply  of  Indian  presents  is  sufficiently  ample. 

Thus  my  friend  you  have  so  far  as  leasure  will  at  this  time 
permit  me  to  give  it  you,  a  summary  view  of  the  plan,  the  means 
and  the  objects  of  this  expedition,  if  therefore  there  is  anything 
under  those  circumstances,  in  this  enterprise,  that  would  induce 
you  to  participate  with  me  in  its  fatiegues,  it's  dangers  and  it's 
honors,  believe  me  there  is  no  man  on  earth  with  whom  I  should 
feel  equal  pleasure  in  sharing  them  as  with  yourself ;  I  make  this 
communication  to  you  with  the  privity  of  the  President,  who  ex- 
presses an  anxious  wish  that  you  woulcj  consent  to  join  me  in  this 
enterprise ;  he  has  authorized  me  to  say  that  in  the  event  of  your 
accepting  this  propositiion  he  will  grant  you  a  Captain's  com- 
mission which  of  course  will  entitle  you  to  the  pay  and  emolu- 
ments attached  to  that  office  and  will  equally  with  myself  entitle 
you  to  such  portion  of  land  as  was  granted  to  officers  of  similar 
rank  for  their  Revolutionarv  services ;  the  commission  with  which 


62  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

he  proposes  to  furnish  you  is  not  to  be  considered  temporary  but 
pernament  if  you  wish  it;  your  situation  if  joined  with  me  in 
this  mission  will  in  all  respects  be  precisely  such  as  my  own.  Pray 
write  to  me  on  this  subject  as  early  as  possible  and  direct  to  me 
at  Pittsburg.  Should  you  feel  disposed  not  to  attach  yourself  to 
this  party  in  an  official  character,  and  at  the  same  time  feel  a  dis- 
position to  accompany  me  as  a  friend  any  part  of  the  way  up  the 
Missourie  I  should  be  extremely  happy  in  your  company,  and  will 
furnish  you  with  every  aid  for  your  return  from  any  point  you 
might  wish  it. 

With  sincere  and  affectionate  regard 
your  friend  &  Humb  sev. 

Meriwether  Lewis. 

We  have  not  the  original  of  Clark 's  reply ;  but  he  preserved 
this  rough  draft : 

Clarksville  17th  July  1803 
Dear  Lewis 

I  received  by  yesterday 's  Mail  your  letter  of  the  19th.  ulto ; 
the  contents  of  which  I  received  with  much  pleasure.  The  enter- 
prise &  Mission  is  such  as  I  have  long  anticipated  &  am  much 
pleased  with  and  as  my  situation  in  life  will  admit  of  my  absence 
the  length  of  time  necessary  to  accomplish  such  an  undertaking, 
I  will  cheerfully  join  you  in  an  "official  character"  as  mentioned 
in  your  letter  and  partake  of  all  the  Dangers,  Difficulties  & 
fatigues,  and  I  anticipate  the  honors  &  rewards,  of  the  result  of 
such  an  enterprise  should  we  be  successful  in  accomplishing  it. 
This  is  an  immense  undertaking  fraited  with  numerous  diffi- 
culties, but  my  friend  I  can  assure  you  that  no  man  lives  with 
whom  I  prefer  to  undertake  and  share  the  difficulties  of  such  a 
trip  than  yourself.  I  reserve  nothing  from  you  that  will  add 
either  to  my  profit  or  satisfaction  and  shall  arrange  my  matters 
as  well  as  I  can  against  your  arrival  here  ? 

It  may  be  necessary  that  you  inform  the  president  of  my 
acceding  to  the  proposals,  so  that  I  may  be  furnished  with  such 
credentials,  as  the  nature  of  the  Tour  may  require,  which  I  sup- 
pose had  best  be  forwarded  to  Louisville.  The  objects  of  this 
Plan  of  Government's  are  great  and  appear  nattering  the  means 
with  which  we  are  furnished  to  carry  it  into  effect,  I  think  are 
sufficiently  liberal.  The  plan  of  operation  which  you  inform  me 
you  intended  to  pursue  (with  a  small  addition  as  to  the  outfit) 
I  highly  approve  of. 

I  shall  endeavor  to  engage  temporarily  such  men  as  I  think 
may  answer  our  purpose  but,  holding  out  the  Idea  as  stated  in 
your  letter — the  subject  of  which  has  been  mentioned  in  Louis- 
ville several  weeks  ago  . 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          63 

Pray  write  to  me  by  every  post,  I  shall  be  exceedingly  anx- 
ious to  know  where  you  are  and  how  you  proceed  ? 

With  every  assurance  of  sincerity  in  every  respect,  and  with 
aff  y  f  &  H.Srv. 

W.  C. 

Following  is  the  rough  draft  of  a  memorandum,  by  Clark, 
evidently  the  scheme  of  a  letter  to  the  President,  under  date  of 
July  24th : 

I  had  the  Honor  of  receiving  thro'  Cap.  Lewis  an  assurance 
of  your  approbation  and  wish  that  I  would  join  him  in  a  N.  W. 
Enterprise. 

Altho'  a  Tour  of  this  kind  is  (two  words  illegible)  difficulties 
and  dangers  I  will  chearfully  join  my  F.  Lewis  in  the  accom- 
plishment of  them,  and  shall  arrange  my  business  so  as  to  be 
in  readiness  to  set  out  in  a  short  time  after  he  arrives  here.  May 
I  request  the  favor  of  you  to  forward  the  inclosed  letter  to  Cap. 
Lewis  should  he  not  be  with  you?  May  I  have  the  pleasure  of 
hering  from  you  ? 

I  am  with  resp. 

Interior  mails  moved  slowly  in  1803.  Lewis  had  grown  un- 
easy over  Clark's  delay  in  answering.  Fearing  that  his  friend 
could  or  would  not  go,  he  opened  tentative  negotiations  with 
Lieutenant  Moses  Hooke,  of  his  own  regiment,  who  was  then  in 
charge  of  military  stores  at  Pittsburg;  a  young  man  "about  26 
years  of  age,  endowed  with  a  good  constitution,  possessing  a  sen- 
sible well -informed  mind,  is  industrious,  prudent  and  persevering 
and  withall  intrepid  and  enterprising,"  Lewis  described  him  in 
a  letter  to  Jefferson  (July  26).  Lewis  had,  however,  apparently 
once  more  written  Clark,  and  their  letters  had  crossed.  In  the 
following  Clark  reiterates  his  favorable  reply,  which  we  obtain 
from  the  rough  draft : 

Louisville  24th  1803 
Dear  Lewis 

I  wrote  you  in  answer  to  your  letter  of  the  19  ulto;  by  the 
last  Mail,  the  contents  of  which  as  I  before  informed  you  were 
truly  pleasing  to  me  and  such  as  I  heartily  join  you  in.  I  am 
arranging  my  matters  so  as  to  detain  but  a  short  time  after  your 
arrival  here,  well  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  getting  as  far  as 
possible  up  the  -  -  this  fall  to  accomplish  the  object  as 

laid  down  by  yourself  and  which  I  highly  approve  of. 

(Paragraph  in  draft,  which  was  erased :  "My  friend  I  join 
you  with  hand  and  Heart  and  anticipate  advantages  which  will 
certainly  accrue  from  the  accomplishment  of  so  vast,  Hazidous 
&  fatiguing  enterprize.  You  no  doubt  will  inform  the  president 
of  my  determination  to  Join  you  in  an  'official  Character'  as  men- 
tioned in  your  letter. 


64  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

The  Credentials  necessary  for  me  to  be  furnished  with  had 
best  be  forwarded  to  this  place,  and  if  we  set  out  before  their  ar- 
rival to  Kaskaskies.") 

I  have  temporarily  engaged  some  men  for  the  enterprise  of  a 
discription  calculated  to  work  &  go  thro'  those  labours  &  fatigues 
which  will  be  necessary.  Several  young  men  (gentlemen's  sons) 
have  applyed  to  accompany  us.  As  they  are  not  accustomed  to 
labour  and  as  that  is  a  verry  essential  part  of  the  services  re- 
quired of  the  party,  I  am  cautious  in  giving  them  any  encourage- 
ment. The  newspaper  accounts  seem  to  confirm  the  report  of  war 
in  Europe  and  the  session  of  Louisiana  to  the  United  States,  and 
I  think  it  possible  that  a  confirmation  of  the  session  of  Louisiana 
may  have  detained  you  at  the  city  longer  than  you  expected,  I 
have  enclosed  a  letter  to  you  under  cover  to  Mr.  Jefferson.  Pray 
let  me  hear  from  you  as  aften  as  possible. 

Yr.  W.  C. 

Lewis's  enthusiastic  and  almost  boyish  reply  to  his  friend 
was  written  at  Pittsburg,  where  he  was  impatiently  waiting  for 
dilatory  boat-builders  to  complete  the  craft  which  they  had  prom- 
ised to  have  ready  by  midsummer. 

Pittsburg  August  3rd  1803 
Dear  Clark : 

Yours  of  the  19th  &  24th  Ul.  have  been  duly  received,  and  be 
assured  I  feel  myself  much  gratifyed  with  your  decision;  for  I 
could  neither  hope,  wish,  or  expect  from  a  union  with  any  man  on 
earth,  more  perfect  support  or  further  aid  in  the  discharge  of  the 
several  duties  of  my  mission,  than  that,  which  I  am  confident  I 
shall  derive  from  being  associated  with  yourself. 

The  articles  of  every  description  forming  my  outfit  for  this 
expedition  have  arrived  in  good  order ;  my  boat  only  detains  me, 
she  is  not  yet  completed  tho'  the  workman  who  contracted  to  build 
her  promises  that  she  shall  be  in  readiness  by  the  last  of  the  next 
week.  The  water  is  low,  this  may  retard,  but  shall  not  totally 
obstruct  my  progress  being  determined  to  proceed  tho'  I  should 
not  be  able  to  ma.ke  greater  speed  than  a  boat's  length  pr  day. 

I  am.  pleased  to  heare  that  you  have  engaged  some  men  for 
this  service,  your  contract  with  them  had  better  be  with  the  con- 
dition of  my  approval,  as  by  the  time  I  shall  arrive  more  will  have 
offered  themselves  and  a  better  selection  may  of  course  be  made ; 
from  the  nature  of  this  enterprise  much  must  depend  on  a  judi- 
cious selection  of  our  men ;  their  qualifications  should  be  such  as 
perfectly  fit  them  for  the  service  otherwise  they  will  greatly  clog 
than  further  the  objects  in  view;  on  this  principle  I  am  well 
pleased  that  you  have  not  admitted  or  encouraged  the  young  gen- 
tlemen you  mention,  as  we  must  set  our  faces  against  all  such 
applications  and  get  rid  of  them  on  the  best  terms  we  can,  they 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          65 

will  not,  answer  our  purposes ;  if  a  good  hunter  or  two  could  be 
conditionally  engaged,  I  would  think  them  an  acquisition,  they 
must  however  understand  that  they  will  not  be  employed  for  the 
purposes  of  hunting  exclusively  but  must  bear  a  portion  of  the 
labour  in  commen  with  the  party. 

Sometime  in  the  month  of  February  last  a  young  man  by 
the  name  of  John  Conner  residing  among  the  Delleware  Indians 
on  White  River  offered  himself,  by  letter,  to  accompany  me  in  the 
capacity  of  Interpreter ;  I  wrote  him  in  answer  accepting  his  serv- 
ices and  giving  him  some  instruction  relative  to  the;  points  at 
which  I  wished  him  to  join  me  as  also  to  engage  one  or  two  In- 
dian hunters  for  the  service — of  this  letter  I  forwarded  tripli- 
cates by  different  routs  but  have  never  received  an  answer ;  I  am 
personally  acquainted  with  this  man  and  think  that  we  could  not 
get  a  person  better  qualfyed  in  every  respect  than  he  is,  and  that 
it  will  be  advisable  to  spare  no  pains  to  get  him.  If  you  can  not 
learn  that  Conner  has  gone  on  to  Massac  Kaskaskais  or  Illinois, 
(which  are  the  places  I  appointed  for  his  joining  me)  I  think  it 
will  be  best  for  you  to  hire  a  man  to  go  to  the  Deleware  Town  and 
enquire  after  him,  you  may  offer  him  300  dollars  a  year  and  find 
him  provisions  and  clothing — should  he  be  at  the  Delleware  Town 
and  be  willing  to  engage  on  these  terms  he  had  better  come  on  im- 
mediately and  join  us  at  Louisville.  He  is  a  trader  among  the 
Indians  and  I  think  he  told  me  he  lived  on  White  River  at  the 
nearest  Delleware  town  to  Fort  Hamilton  and  distant  from  that 
place  about  24  miles. 

The  session  of  Louisiana  is  now  no  (word  illegible)  on  the  14th 
of  July  the  President  received  the  treaty  from  Paris,  by  which 
France  has  ceded  to  the  U.  States,  Louisiana  according  to  the 
bounds  to  which  she  had  a  wright,  price  11*4  millions  of  dollars, 
besides  paying  certain  debts  of  France  to  our  citizens  which  will 
be  from  one  to  four  millions ;  the  Western  people  may  now  esti- 
mate the  value  of  their  possessions. 

I  have  been  detained  much  longer  than  I  expected  but  shall 
be  with  you  by  the  last  of  this  month. 

You  sincere  friend  &  Ob.  Sevt. 

NOTE— Write  &  direct  to  me  at  Cincinnati. 

In  the  same  collection  of  letters  is  one  by  Clark  to  John  Con- 
ner (August  20),  seeking  to  engage  that  person  as  Indian  inter- 
preter, and  offering  him  "300  dollars  a  year  and  find  you  provi- 
sion &  clothing. ' '  But  the  negotiations  with  Conner  fell  through. 

We  next  have  a  hurried  note  fi*om  Lewisf  to  Clark,  dated 
September  28th,  notifying  his  friend,  who  was  waiting  for  the 
flotilla  at  Louisville,  that  the  expedition  had  reached  Cincinnati 
"After  a  most  tedious  and  laborious  passage  from  Pittsburg." 
It  was  delayed  by  the  ' '  unpardonable  negligence  and  inattention 
of  the  boat  builders  who,  unfortunately  for  me,  were  a  set  of  most 


66  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

incorrigible  drunkards,  and  whom,  neither  threats,  intreaties  nor 
any  other  mode  of  treatment  which  I  could  devise  had  any  ef- 
fect." He  tells  Clark  that  "your  ideas  in  the  subject  of  a  judi- 
cious scelection  of  our  party  perfectly  comport  with  my  own ; ' ' 
and  adds,  ' '  I  do  not  much  regret  the  loss  of  Mr.  Conner  for  sev- 
eral reasons  which  I  shall  mention  to  you  when  we  meet ;  he  has 
deceived  me  very  much. ' ' 

A  letter  by  Lewis,  dated  Cahokia,  December  17th,  addressed 
to  Clark,  who  is  drilling  to  men  at  Camp  River  Dubois,  states 
that  recruits  are  coining  in.  "Drewyer  (Droullard)  arrived 
here  last  evening  from  Tennessee  with  eight  men.  I  do  not  know 
how  they  may  answer  our  experiment  but  I  am  a  little  disappoint- 
ed, in  finding  them  not  possessed  of  more  of  the  requisite  qualifi- 
cations; there  is  not  a  hunter  among  them."  Suggestions  are 
given  relative  to  corn  for  the  horses,  and  the  building  of  huts  for 
the  party  wintering  ' '  on  Morrison  Js  farm. ' ' 

From  Camp  River  Dubois  (February  18,  1804),  Lewis  writes 
to  Clark,  who  is  at  St.  Louis,  saying  that  he  is  "disappointed  in 
getting  down  to  the  ball  011  the  14th,"  and  giving  news  of  the 
camp,  which  has  been  visited  by  "a  principal  chief  of  the  Kick- 
apoo  nation." 

Another  note  from  "M.  Lewis  in  haist"  to  Clark,  dated  May 
2,  1804 — twelve  days  before  the  start — informs  him  of  the  ship- 
ment to  camp  of  "19  small  flaggs,  16  musquetoe  nets  and  our 
shirts;"  gives  directions  relative  to  the  men's  pay,  which  "will 
commence  from  the  dates  of  their  last  inlistments ; ' '  and  reports 
that  "Mr.  (Pierre)  Chouteau  has  procured  seven  (French  voy- 
ageurs)  engaged  to  go  as  far  as  the  Mandans — but  they  will  not 
agree  to  go  further. ' ' 

These  documents  well  exemplify  the  habits  and  character- 
istics of  the  two  men — Clark  expressing  himself  sententiously, 
with  Doric  simplicity  and  vigor  of  phrase ;  Lewis  in  more  cor- 
rect diction,  inclined  to  expatiate  on  details,  especially  with  re- 
gard to  Indians  and  natural  history,  and  frequently  revealing  a 
considerable  fund  of  sentiment  and  humor.  The  following  en- 
tries for  July  4,  1805,  are  fairly  characteristic — although  not  sel- 
dom Lewis  gives  us  pages  of  interesting  circumstances,  where 
Clark  turns  off  the  incidents  of  the  day  with  a  blunt  paragraph : 

(Lewis)  our  work  being  an  end  this  evening,  we  gave  the 
men  a  drink  of  Sperits,  it  being  the  last  of  our  stock,  and  some  of 
them  appeared  a  little  sensible  to  it's  effects  the  fiddle  was  plyed 
and  they  danced  very  merrily  untill  9  in  the  evening  when  a  heave 
shower  of  rain  put  an  end  to  that  part  of  the  amusement  tho' 
they  continued  their  mirth  with  songs  and  festive  jokes  and  were 
extreemly  merry  until  late  at  night,  we  had  a  very  comfortable 
dinner,  of  bacon,  beans,  suit  dumplings  &  buffaloe  beaf  &c.'  in 
short  we  had  no  just  cause  to  covet  the  sumptuous  feasts  of  our 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          67 

countrymen  on  this  day.  one  Elk  and  a  beaver  were  all  that  was 
killed  by  the  hunters  to-day;  the  buffaloe  seem  to  have  with- 
drawn themselves  from  this  neighborhood;  the  men  inform  us 
that  they  are  still  abundant  about  the  falls. 

(Clark)  :  A  fine  morning,  a  heavy  dew  last  night ;  all  hands 
employed  in  Completing  the  leather  boat,  gave  the  Party  a  dram 
which  made  several  verry  lively,  a  black  Cloud  came  up  from  the 
S.  W.,  and  rained  a  fiew  drops  I  employ  my  Self  drawing  a  Copy 
of  the  river  to  be  left  at  this  place  for  fear  of  some  accident  in 
advance.  I  have  left,  buried  below  the  falls  a  Map  of  the  coun- 
trey  below  Fort  Maiidan  with  Sundery  private  papers.  The 
party  amused  themselves  danceing  untill  late  when  a  shower  of 
rain  broke  up  the  amusement,  all  lively  and  Chearfull,  one  Elk 
and  a  beaver  kill  'd  to  day. 

Here  is  a  graphic  picture  by  Clark  (April  9,  1806)  who 
dwells  upon  the  incident  at  unwonted  length : 

last  night  at  a  late  hour  the  old  amsiated  Indian  who  was 
detected  in  stealing  a  Spoon  yesterday  crept  upon  his  belley  with 
his  hands  and  feet,  with  a  view  as  I  suppose  to  take  some  of  our 
baggage  which  was  in  several  defferent  parcels  on  the  bank,  the 
Sentinel  observed  the  motions  of  this  old  amcinated  retch  until 
he  got  with  (in)  a  fiew  feet  of  the  baggage  at  (which)  he  hailed 
him  and  approached  with  his  gun  in  a  possion  as  if  going  to  shote 
which  allarmed  the  old  retch  in  such  a  manner  that  he  ran  with 
all  his  powers  tumbleing  over  bush  and  everything  in  his  way. 

The  following  account  of  Christmas  at  Fort  Clatsop  (1805), 
from  the  Clark  field-book,  shows  the  poor  fellows  seeking  to  make 
a  brave  show  under  dolefull  conditions : 

Some  rain  at  different  times  last  night  and  showers  of  hail 
with  intervales  of  fair  starrlight.  This  morning  at  day  we  were 
saluted  by  all  our  party  under  our  winders,  a  Shout  and  a  Song 
after  brackfast  we  divided  our  tobacco  which  amounted  to  2  Car- 
rots, one  half  we  gave  to  the  party  whot  used  Tobacco  those  who 
did  not  we  gave  a  Handkerchief  as  a  present,  The  day  proved 
showery  all  day,  the  Ind.  left!  us  this  evening,  all  our  party 
moved  into  their  huts,  we  dried  some  of  our  wet  goods. 

I  reved  a  present  of  a  Fleeshe  Hoserey  (fleece  hosiery)  vest 
draws  &  socks  of  Capt  Lewis  p  Mockersons  of  Whitehouse,  a 
small  Indian  basket  of  Guterich  (Goodrich)  &  2  Dox  weasels  tales 
of  the  Squar  of  Shabono,  &  some  black  roots  of  the  Indians  Our 
Diner  to  day  consisted  of  pore  Elk  boiled,  split  fish  &  some  roots, 
a  bad  Christmass  diner  worm  day. 

"Ticks  and  Musquiters"  are  "Verry  troublesom"  through 
much  of  tha  journey;  on  the  upper  Missouri,  "eye  knats  and 
prickly  pears,  equal  any  three  curses  that  ever  poor  Egypt  laib- 
oured  under,  except  the  Mahometant  yoke. ' '  Grizzly  Bears  great- 
ly annoy  them  east  of  the  mountains ;  Lewis  gives  many  thrilling 
experiences  with  this  bulky  and  ferocious  beast,  and  writes:  "I 


68  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

find  that  the  curiossity  of  our  party  is  pretty  well  satisfyed  with 
rispect  to  this  anamal  *  he  has  staggered  the  resolution 

of  several  of  them  *  *  *  I  comfess  I  do  not  like  the  gentle- 
men and  had  reather  fight  two  Indians  than  one  bear. ' '  One  has 
frequent  glimpses,  on  the  deeply  gullied  plains,  of  buffalo  heards, 
often  enbracing  several  thousands,  and  antelopes,  deer,  bighorns, 
and  other  game  in  astonishing  numbers.  In  crossing  the  divide, 
we  are  closely  in  touch  with  a  sad  dearth  of  food ;  and  upon  the 
Columbia  and  at  Fort  Clatsop  find  the  adventurers  obliged  to  ex- 
ist on  horses,  dogs,  dried  fish,  and  roots,  until  the  human  system 
sometimes  revolts — Clark  never  could  accustom  himself  to  dog 
flesh;  although  Lewis,  in  several  facetious  references,  promesses 
to  regard  it  as  equal  to  beaver-tail.  Storms  by  day  and  night,  the 
shelving  banks  of  the  Missouri,  the  toil  of  towing  line  and  kedge 
anchor,  the  misery  of  wading  rapids,  the  dangers  of  crossing 
snow-clad  mountains,  constant  peril  from  prowling  grizzlies,  buf- 
falo stampedes  or  crafty  Indians  whose  machinations  require  the 
equal  exercise  of  diplomacy  and  courage — incidents  like  these,  al- 
though often  but  casually  alluded  to,  are  sufficient  to  give  us  a 
vivid  conception  of  the  sore  trials  which  beset  the  path-finders, 
and  the  wide  range  of  qualifications  necessary  to  the  leadership 
of  an  expedition  which  was  to  overcome  both  untamed  nature  and 
savage  men. 

By  means  of  the  diaries  we  also  constantly  obtain  side-lights 
on  the  personnel'  of  the  party,  other  than  the  captains,  which 
Biddle's  literary  paraphrase  quite  neglects.  Besides  the  volun- 
teers from  Ohio  River  garrisons,  were  several  young  Kentucky 
woodsmen  and  mechanics,  also  a  small  group  of  French  Canad- 
ians who  served  as  interpreters,  hunters  and  boatmen.  The  Ken- 
tucky wood-rovers  were  at  first  restive  under  the  strict  discipline 
which  Lewis  and  Clark  had  found  it  essential  to  mainfain.  The 
orderly  book,  already  alluded  to,  reveals  numerous  instances 
wherein  corporal  punishment — in  one  case,  four  hundred  lashes 
on  the  bare  back — was  administered  to  refractory  privates ;  while 
in  a  case  of  mutiny  during  the  first  summer,  resulted  in  two  cul- 
prits being  drummed  out  of  camp,  after  the  usual  flogging,  and 
then  kept  imprisoned  until  the  following  spring,  when  they  were 
sent  back  in  irons  to  St.  Louis. 

The  four  sergeants  appear  to  have  been  equally  trusted,  and 
not  infrequently  receive  commendation  in  the  journals.  Floyd's 
death  (August  20th,  1804),  calls  forth  especial  praise  from 
Clark:  "This  Man  at  all  times  gave  us  proofs  of  his  firmness 
and  Determined  resolution  to  doe  Service  to  his  Countrey  and 
honor  to  himself. ' '  Ordway  was  first  sergeant,  and  his  penman- 
ship appears  frequently  in  the  orderly  book.  Pryor,  in  particu- 
lar, was  on  several  occassions  given  the  care  of  difficult  special 
enterprises.  Among  the  privates,  Joseph  and  Reuben  Fields,  as 
hunters  for  the  party,  receive  frequent  mention,  Clark  thinking 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          69 

them  remarkable  shots;  but  his  highest  praise  in  this  regard  is 
for  the  Frenchman,  Drouillard  (Drewyer,  as  the  journals  phone- 
tically spell  his  name),  who  is  a  mighty  hunter  and  abundant  in 
resour'ce. 

There  were  many  times  upon  the  journey  when  it  was  nec- 
essary to  entertain  their  numerous  savage  visitors,  concerning 
whose  intentions  the  captains  had  good  reason  to  be  suspicious. 
Lewis's  air  gun,  which  would  discharge  a  dozen  or  more  shots 
without  re-loading,  was  a  never-ending  source  of  wonder  to  the 
simple  natives ;  so  also,  the  sagacious  dog  which  accompanied  him 
throughout  the  expedition,  and  whose  simple  tricks  immensely 
pleased  the  tribes-men.  Clark's  compass  and  magnet  were  in  fre- 
quent demand,  also  his  spy-glass — magic,  in  the  truest  sense  of  the 
word.  Kentuckians  and  voyageurs  fiddled,  sang  and  danced, 
often  until  sheer  exhaustion  caused  them  to  desist;  sometimes 
they  served  in  relays,  to  keep  their  guests  continually  amused. 
On  such  occasions,  we  read  much  of  the  acrobatic  performances 
of  Clark's  burly  and  good-natured  negro  servant,  York,  whose 
facial  and  bodily  contortions  occasionally  so  alarmed  the  Indians 
that  his  master  would  cause  him  to  stop  "  making  himself  too 
Terribull." 

Prominent  among  the  party  were  Charbonneau,  one  of  the 
French  interpreters — a  loutish,  brutal  fellow,  whose  loyalty  was 
more  than  once  suspected — and  his  squaw,  Sacajawea  (or  Sah- 
cahgarweah),  the  only  woman  in  the  party.  Sacajawea  was  a 
young  Shoshoni  who  had,  five  years  previous,  been  captured  near 
the  Three  Forks  of  the  Missouri,  by  a  band  of  Minitaree  and  car- 
ried to  the  lower  reaches  of  the  Missouri,  where,  on  regaining  her 
freedom,  she  fell  in  and  consorted  with  Charbonneau.  A  son 
was  born  to  her  on  the  journey,  and,  with  the  papoose  strapped 
on  her  back,  she  .accompanied  the  expedition  to  the  Pacific  and 
back  again  to  Fort  Mandan.  As  the  only  member  of  the  detach- 
ment who  had  been  up  the  Missouri  to  the  mountains,  and  who 
knew  the  native  dialects  of  the  Far  West,  her  presence  was  deem- 
ed invaluable ;  many  of  Charbonneau 's  shortcomings  were  on  this 
account  forgiven.  Once,  when  the  principal  boat  was  nearly  up- 
set by  a  squall  on  the  Missouri,  Sacajawea 's  coolness  alone  saved 
valuable  instruments  and  papers,  the  loss  of  which  might,  the 
captains  tell  us,  have  necessitated  the  return  of  the  expedition. 
Nearing  the  mountains,  the  river  frequently  forked,  and  her 
memory  of  geographical  points,  while  apparently  weak,  never- 
theless materially  assisted  in  decisions*  as  to  the  proper  stream  to 
follow ;  and  when  at  last  it  was  necessary  to  cache  the  canoes,  and 
seek  Indians  horses  with  which  to  cross  the  far-stretching  divide, 
the  village  chief  who  finally  assisted  them  with  men  and  beasts, 
was  Sacajawea 's  brother,  Cameawhait.  Lewis  had  once  com- 
plained of  the  woman 's  indifference  to  sentiment,  saying  * '  If  she 
has  enough  to  eat  and  a  few  trinkets  to  wear  I  believe  she  would 


70  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

be  perfectly  content  anywhere.''  But  her  meeting  with  Camea- 
whait,  he  declares  to  have  been  ' '  really  affecting1. ' '  The  women 
of  Oregon  are  preparing  to  erect  a  bronze  statue  to  Sacajawea,  in 
the  capacity  of  guide  to  the  expedition,  and  propose  to  unveil  it 
during  the  Lewis  and  Clark  Centennial  Exposition  in  Portland. 
in  1905. 

But  thd  limitations  of  space  forbid  further  description  of 
this  newly  found  mine  of  documentary  material.  Enough  has 
been  written  to  show  that  the  pages  of  these  manuscripts  jour- 
nals are  aglow  with  human  interest.  The  quiet,  even  temper  of 
the  camp ;  the  loving  consideration  that  each  of  the  two  leaders 
felt  for  each  other ;  the  magnanimity  of  Lewis,  officially  the  lead- 
er, in  equally  dividing  every  honor  with  his  friend  and  making 
no  move  without  the  latter 's  consent ;  the  poetic  temperament  of 
Lewis,  who  loved  flowers  and  animals,  and  in  his  notes  discoursed 
like  a  philosopher  who  enjoyed  the  exercise  of  writing;  the  rug- 
ged character  of  Clark,  who  wrote  in  brief,  pointed  phrase, 
spelled  phonetically,  capitalized  chaotically,  and  occasionally 
slipped  in  his  grammar — all  these  and  more  are  evident  on  every 
page ;  causing  the  reader  deeply  to  admire  the  men,  and  to  follow 
them  in  their  often  thrilling  adventures  with  the  keenest  sym- 
pathy and  anticipation.  We  shall  hereafter  know  Lewis  and 
Clark  and  their  bronzed  companions  as  we  never  knew  them  be- 
fore. 

Letters  of  General  Clark 

The  letters  among  the  papers  of  General  William  Clark,  are 
of  special  interest  to  the  people  of  the  great  west  and  always 
should  be  of  the  great  expedition  of  over  one  hundred  years  ago. 
The  letters  herewith  given  from  William  Clark  to  his  brother, 
General  George  Rogers  Clark  (of  Revolutionary  fame)  and  the 
second  one  to  the  husband  of  Sacajawea,  the  French  half-breed 
interpreter  Charbono.  The  letters  throws  a  very  interesting 
light  on  the  true  character  of  William  Clark.  These  letters  are 
the  property  of  Mrs.  Julia  Clark  Voorhees,  granddaughter  of 
General  William  Clark,  and  of  her  daughter,  Miss  Eleanor  Glas- 
gow Voorhees  of  New  York,  in  whose  possession  they  have  by  in- 
heritance for  many  years  remained. 

William  Clark  to  George  Rogers  Clark,  St.  Louis,  September 
24,  1806 : 

Dear  Brother : 

We  arrived  at  this  place  on  the  23  inst.  from  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  where  we  remained  during  the  last  winter  near  the  en- 
trance of  the  Columbia  River.  This  station  we  left  on  the  27th. 
of  March  last  and  should  have  reached  St.  Louis  early  in  August 
had  we  not  been  detained  by  the  snow  which  bared  our  passage 
across  the  Rocky  Mountains  until  the  24th  of  June.  In  returning 
through  those  mountains  we  divided  ourselves  into  several  parties 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          71 

digressing  from  the  rout  by  which  we  went  out  in  order  the  more 
effectually  to  explore  the  country  and  discover  the  most  prac- 
ticable rout  which  does  exist  across  the  continent  by  way  of  the 
Missouri  and  Columbia  Rivers,  in  this  we  were  completely  suc- 
cessful and  have  therefore  no  hesitation  in  declaring  that  such 
as  nature  has  permitted  it  we  have  discovered  the  best  rout  which 
does  exist  across  the  continent  of  North  America  in  that  direc- 
tion. Such  is  that  by  way  of  the  Missouri  to  the  foot  of  the  rap- 
ids below  the  great  falls  of  that  river,  a  distance  of  2575  miles, 
thence  by  passing  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  a  navigable  part  of 
Kooskee  340  and  with  the  Kooskooskee  73  miles  Lewis's  river 
154  miles  and  the  Columbia  413  miles  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  mak- 
ing the  total  distance  from  the  confluence  of  the  Missouri  and 
Mississippi  to  the  discharge  of  the  Columbia  into  the  Pacific 
Ocean  3555  miles,  the  navigation  of  the  Missouri  may  be  deemed 
good ;  its  difficulties  arise  from  its  falling  banks,  timber  embeded 
in  the  mud  of  its  channel  its  sandbars  and  steady  rapidity  of  its 
current  all  which  may  be  overcome  with  a  great  degree  of  cer- 
tainty by  using  the  necessary  precautions.  The  passage  by  land 
of  340  miles  from  the  Missouri  to  the  Kooskooskee  is  the  most 
formidable  part  of  the  tract  proposed  across  the  continent  of  this 
distance  200  miles  is  along  a  good  road  and  140  over  tremendous 
mountains  which  for  60  miles  are  covered  with  eternal  snow,  a 
passage  over  these  mountains  is  however  practicable  from  the  lat- 
ter part  of  June  to  the  last  of  September  and  the  cheep  rate  at 
which  horses  are  to  be  obtained  from  the  Indians  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  and  west  of  them  reduce  the  expenses  of  transporta- 
tion over  this  portage  to  a  mere  trifle,  the  navigation  of  Koos- 
kooskee, Lewis's  R.  and  the  Columbia  is  safe  and  good  from  the 
first  of  April  to  the  middle  of  August  by  making  portages  on  the 
latter  river,  the  first  of  which  in  descending  is  1200  paces  at 
the  falls  of  the  Columbia  261  miles  up  that  river  the  second  of  2 
miles  at  the  long  narrows  6  miles  below  the  falls  and  a  third  also 
2ms  at  the  great  rapids  65  miles  still  lower  down,  the  tide  flows 
up  the  Columbia  183  miles  and  within  7  miles  of  the  great  rapids, 
large  sloops  may  with  safety  ascend  as  high  as  tide  water  and 
vessels  of  300  tons  burthen  may  reach  the  entrance  of  the  Mul- 
tnomah  R.  a  large  southern  branch  of  the  Columbia  which  tak- 
ing its  rise  on  the  confines  of  Mexico  with  the  Colorado  and 
Apostles  rivers  discharges  itself  into  the  Columbia  125  miles  from 
its  mouth.  I  consider  this  tract  across  the  continent  of  immense 
advantage  to  the  fur  trade  as  all  the\furs  collected  in  9/10ths.  of 
the  most  valuable  fur  country  in  America  may  be  conveyed  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  and  shipped  from  thence  to  East  Indies 
by  the  first  of  August  in  each  year  and  will  of  course  reach  Can- 
ton earlier  than  the  furs  which  are  annually  exported  from  Mon- 
treal arrive  in  Great  Britain. 


72  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

In  our  outward  bound  voyage  we  ascended  to  the  foot  of  the 
rapids  below  the  great  falls  of  the  Missouri  where  we  arrived 
on  the  14th.  of  June  1805.  Not  having  met  with  any  of  the  na- 
tives of  the  Rocky  Mountains  we  were  of  course  ignorant  of  the 
passes  by  land  which  existed  through  that  country  to  the  Colum- 
bia River  and  had  we  even  known  the  route  we  were  destitute  of 
horses  which  would  have  been  indispensibly  necessary  to  enable 
us  to  transport  the  requisite  quanity  of  ammunition  and  other 
stores  to  ensure  the  success  of  the  remaining  part  of  our  voyage 
down  the  Columbia.  We  therefore  determined  to  navigate  the 
Missouri  as  far  as  it  was  practicable  or  until  we  met  with  some 
of  the  natives  from  whom  we  could  obtain  horses  and  information 
of  the  country,  accordingly  we  undertook  the  most  laborious 
portage  at  the  falls  of  the  Missouri  of  18  miles,  which  we  effected 
with  our  canoes  and  baggage  by  the  3rd.  of  July,  from  hence 
ascending  the  Missouri  we  entered  the  Rocky  Mountains  at  the 
distance  of  7  miles  above  the  upper  part  of  the  portage  and  pen- 
etrated as  far  as  the  three  forks  of  that  river  a  distance  of  181 
miles  further  here  the  Missouri  divides  itself  into  three  nearly 
equal  branches  at  the  same  point,  the  two  largest  branches  are 
so  nearly  of  the  same  dignity  that  we  did  not  conceive  that  either 
of  them  could  with  propriety  retain  the  name  of  the  Missouri  and 
therefore  called  these  three  streams  Jefferson,  Madison  and  Galli- 
tan.  The  confluence  of  these  rivers  is  2848  miles  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Missouri ;  by  the  meanders  of  that  river. 

We  arrived  at  the  3  forks  of  the  Missouri  the  27th.  of  July. 
Not  having  yet  been  so  fortunate  as  to  meet  with  natives  although 
I  had!  previously  made  several  excursions  for  that  purpose  we 
were  compelled  still  to  continue  our  route  by  water,  that  to 
which  we  had  given  the  name  of  Jefferson  River  was  deemed  the 
most  proper  for  our  purposes  and  we  accordingly  ascended  it  249 
miles  to  the  upper  forks  and  its  extreme  navigatable  point  making 
the  total  distance  to  which  we  had  navigated  the  waters  of  the 
Missouri  3096  miles  of  which  429  lay  within  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, on  the  morning  of  the  17th.  of  August  1805  I  arrived  at 
the  forks  of  Jeffersons  River  where  I  met  Captain  Lewis  who  had 
previously  penetrated  with  three  men  to  the  waters  of  the  Colum- 
bia and  discovered  a  band  of  Shoshones  and  had  found  means  to 
induce  thirty-five  of  them,  chiefs  and  warriors,  to  accompany  him 
to  that  place,  from  these  people  we  learned  that  the  river  on 
which  we  resided  was  not  navigable  and  that  a  passage  through 
the  mountains  in  that  direction  was  impracticable ;  being  unwill- 
ing to  confide  in  this  unfavorable  account  of  the  natives  it  was 
concerted  between  Capt.  Lewis  and  myself  that  I  should  go  for- 
ward immediately  with  a  small  party  and  explore  the  river  while 
he  in  the  interior  would  lay  up  the  canoes  at  that  place  and  en- 
gage the  natives  with  their  horses  to  assist  in  transporting  our 
stores  and  baggage  to  their  camp.  Accordingly  I  set  out  the  next 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          73 

day  passed  the  dividing  mountains  between  the  waters  of  the 
Missouri  and  Columbia  and  descended  the  river  which  I  have 
since  called  the  East  Fork  of  Lewis's  R.  about  70  miles  finding 
that  the  Indian  account  of  the  country  in  the  direction  of  this 
river  was  correct.  I  returned  and  found  Captain  Lewis  on  the 
29th  of  August  at  the  Shoshone  camp — excessively  fatigued  hav- 
ing been  compelled  to  subsist  on  berries  during  the  greater  part 
of  the  route.  We  now  purchased  27  horses  of  these  Indians  and 
hired  a  guide  who  assured  us  that  he  could  in  fifteen  days  taks 
us  to  a  large  river  in  an  open  country  west  of  these  mountains  by 
a  rout  some  distance  to  the  north  of  the  river  on  which  they  lived 
and  that  by  which  the  natives  west  of  the  mountains  visited  the 
plains  of  the  Missouri  for  the  purpose  of  hunting  buffaloe.  ev- 
ery preparation  being  made  was  set  forward  with  our  guide  on 
the  31st.  of  August  through  those  tremendous  mountains  in 
which  we  continued  until  the  22nd.  of  September  before  we 
reached  the  level  country  beyond  them.  On  our  way  we  met  the 
Ootolashshoot,  a  band  of  the  Tushipahs  from  whom  we  obtained 
an  accession  of  several  horses  and  exchanged  eight  or  ten  others. 
This  proved  of  infinite  service  to  us  as  we  were  compelled  to  sub- 
sist on  horse  beef  about  eight  days  before  we  reached  Kooskooske. 
During  our  passage  over  these  mountains  we  suffered  everything 
which  hunger,  cold  and  fatigue  could  impose;  nor  did  our  diffi- 
culties with  respect  to  provisions  cease  on  our  arrival  at  the 
Kooskooske  for  although  the  Pallopepallers  numerous  nation  in- 
habiting that  country  were  extremely  hospitable  and  for  a  few 
trifling  articles  furnished  us  with  an  abundance  of  roots  and 
dried  salmon,  the  food  to  which  they  were  accustomed  we  found 
that  we  could  not  subsist  on  those  articles  and  almost  all  of  us 
grew  sick  on  eating  them,  we  were  obliged  therefore  to  have  re- 
course to  the  flesh  of  horses  and  dogs  as  food  to  supply  the  defi- 
ciency of  our  guns  which  produced  but  little  meat  as  game  was 
scarce  in  the  vicinity  of  our  camp  on  the  Kooskooske  where  we 
were  compelled  to  remain  in  order  to  construct  our  perouges  to 
descend  the  river,  at  this  season  the  salmon  are  megre  and  form 
but  indifferent  food.  While  we  remained  here  I  was  myself  sick 
for  several  days  and  my  friend  Capt.  Lewis  suffered  a  severe  in- 
disposition. Having  completed  4  large  perouges  and  a  small 
canoe  we  gave  our  horses  in  charge  of  the  Pallopepallers  until  we 
returned  and  on  the  7th  of  Oct.  re-embarked  for  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  We  decided  by  the  rout  which  I  have  already  mentioned, 
the  water  of  the  rivers  being  low  at  {his  season  we  experienced 
much  difficulty  in  descending.  We  found  them  obstructed  by  a 
great  number  of  difficult  and  dangerous  rapids  in  passing  of 
which  our  perouges  narrowly  with  their  lives,  however  this  dif- 
ficulty does  not  exist  iii  high  water  which  happens  within  the 
period  which  I  have  previously  mentioned.  We  found  the  na- 
tives extremely  numerous  and  generally  friends  though  we  have 


74  Personal  Recollections  of  Pioneer  Life 

on  several  occasions  owed  our  lives  and  the  fate  of  the  expedition 
to  our  number  which  consisted  of  31  men.  On  the  17  of  Novem- 
ber we  reached  the  Ocean  where  various  considerations  induced 
us  to  spend  the  winter.  We  therefore  surchecl  for  an  eligible 
situation  for  that  purpose  and  selected  a  spot  on  the  E.  side  of 
a  little  river  called  by  the  Natul  which  discharges  itself  into  a 
small  bay  on  the  S.  E.  side  of  the  Columbia  and  14  miles  within 
point  Adams,  here  we  constructed  some  log  houses  and  defend- 
ed them  with  a  common  stockade  work ;  this  place  we  called  Fort 
Clatsop  after  a  nation  of  that  name  who  were  our  nearest  neigh- 
bors in  this  country.  We  found  an  abundance  of  elk  on  which 
we  subsisted  principally  during  the  last  winter  on  our  homeward 
bound  voyage  being  much  better  acquainted  with  the  country  we 
were  enabled  to  take  such  precautions  which  have  in  a  great  meas- 
ure secured  us  from  the  want  of  provision  at  any  time  and  great- 
ly lessened  our  fatigue  when  compared  with  those  to  which  we 
were  compelled  to  submit  in  our  outward  bound  journey.  We 
left  Fort  Clatsop  011  the  23th.  of  March.  We  have  not  lost  a  man 
since  wei  left  the  Mandans  a  circumstance  which  I  assure  you  is 
a  pleasing  consideration  to  me.  As  I  shall  shortly  be  with  you  I 
deem  it  unnecessary  to  have  to  attempt  minutely  to  detale  the 
occurances  of  the  last  eighteen  months. 

Adieue  &c  William  Clark. 

William  Clark  to  Toussaint  Carbono  on  board  the  Perouge 
near  the  Ricara  Village  August  20th,  1806. 

Charbono, 

Sir:  Your  present  situations  with  the  Indians  gives  me 
some  concern.  I  wish  now  that  I  had  advised  you  to  come  with 
me  to  Illinoise  where  it  most  probably  would  be  in  my  power  to 
put  you  in  the  way  to  do  something  for  yourself.  I  was  so  en- 
gaged after  the  Big  White  concluded  to  go  down  with  Jessomme 
as  his  interpreter  that  I  had  no  time  to  talk  to  you  as  much  as  I 
had  intended  to  have  done.  You  have  been  a  long  time  with  me 
and  have  conducted  yourself  in  such  a  manner  as  to  gain  my 
friendship.  Your  woman  who  accompanied  you  on  that  long  dan- 
gerous and  fatiguing  route  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  back  de- 
serves a  greater  reward  for  her  attention  and  services  on  that 
rout  than  we  had  in  our  power  to  give  her  at  the  Mandans. 

As  to  youij  little  son  (my  boy  Pomp)  you  well  know  my 
fondness  for  him  and  my  anxiety  to  take  and  raise  him  as  my 
own  child.  I  once  more  tell  you  if  you  will  bring  your  son  Bap- 
tiest  to  me  I  will  educate  him  and  treat  him  as  my  own  child.  I 
do  not  forget  the  promise  which  I  made  to  you  and  shall  now  re- 
peat them  that  you  may  be  certain.  Charbono,  if  you  wish  to  live 
with  the  white  people  and  will  come  to  me  I  will  give  you  a  piece 
of  land  and  furnish  you  with  horses,  cows  and  hogs,  if  you  wish 
to  visit  your  friends  in  Montreal  I  will  let  you  have  a  horse  and 


On  the  Mountains  and  Plains  of  the  Great  West          75 

your  family  shall  be  taken  care  of  until  you  return,  if  you  wish 
to  return  as  an  interpreter  Monetears  when  the  troops  come  up 
from  the  establishment,  you  will  be  with  me  ready  and  I  will  pro- 
cure you  the  place — or  if  you  wish  to  return  to  trade  with  the 
Indians  and  will  leave  your  little  son  Pomp  with  me  I  will  assist 
you  with  merchandise  for  that  purpose  and  become  myself  con- 
cerned with  you  in  trade  on  a  small  scale  that  is  to  say  not  ex- 
ceeding- a  perouge  load  at  one  time.  If  you  are  disposed  to  accept 
either  of  my  offers  to  you  and  will  bring  down  your  son  your  fam- 
ily Janey  had  best  come  along  with  you  to  take  care  of  the  boy 
until  I  get  him.  Let  me  advise  you  to  keep  your  bill  of  exchange 
and  what  furs  and  peltrees  you  have  in  possession  and  get  as 
much  more  as  you  can  and  get  as  many  robes  and  big  horn  and 
Cabbra  Skins  as  you  can  collect  in  the  course  of  the  winter  and 
take  them  down  to  St.  Louis  as  early  as  possible  in  the  spring. 
When  you  get  to  St.  Louis  inquire  of  the  Governor  of  that  place 
for  a  letter  I  shall  leave  for  you.  in  the  letter  I  shall  leave  with 
the  Governor  I  shall  inform  you  what  you  had  best  do  with  your 
furs  peltree  robes  &c  and  direct  you  where  to  find  me.  If  you 
should  meet  with  any  misfortune  on  the  river  &c  when  you  get 
to  St.  Louis  write  a  letter  to  me  by  the  post  and  let  me  know  your 
situation.  If  you  do  not  intend  to  go  down  either  this  fall  or  in 
the  spring  write  a  letter  to  me  by  first  opportunity  and  inform 
me  what  you  intend  to  do  that  I  may  expect  you  or  not.  If  you 
intend  to  come  down  this  fall  or  the  next  spring  will  be  best  time. 
This  fall  would  be  best  if  you  could  get  down  before  winter.  I 
shall  be  found  either  in  St.  Louis  or  in  Clarksville  at  the  falls  of 
the  Ohio. 

Wishing  you  and  your  family  great  suckess  &  with  enxious 
expectations  of  seeing  my  little  dancing  boy  Baptiest  I  shall  re- 
main your  friend, 

William  Clark. 

Keep  this  letter  and  let  no  more  than  one  or  2  persons  see 
it  and  when  you  write  to  me  seal  your  letter. 

I  think  you  best  not  deturman  which  of  my  offers  to  accept 
until  you  see  me.  Come  prepared  to  accept  of  either  which  you 
may  chuse  after  you  get  down. 

Mr.  Toussaint  Charbono, 

Meneterras  Village. 


THE  END 


